Legacy
by Mid-Boss2997
Summary: Returned from the grave and a little revised. A Legacy of Kain crossover. For a month now Ranma had strange dreams... they show him the life and death of a young noble, that would change the fate of a whole world.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

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"I hate these dreams..."

muttered Ranma as he walked through the streets of Nerima. He was wearing his usual Chinese shirt, black pants and slippers. The sky was full of stars even though he was in a town and the streets were completely devoid of life except for him.

Since his fight with Saffron one month ago, Ranma had those strange nightmares and he couldn't sleep at all after them. It wasn't like they were terrible enough to keep him awake but all of his sleepiness faded away after he had them.

Almost every night since his return from China he has been wandering through the prefecture of Tokyo now. No one in the Tendo Dojo noticed this not even Genma, who slept in the same room as his son. This wasn't very surprising though, since the panda seemed to be too busy with his own dreams about retirement.

Ranma was about to round a corner when he heard a loud scream coming from an alley a few meters ahead of him. Without wasting a thought he began to run into the direction of the cry.

When he reached the scene he saw two thugs holding a girl by the arms while a third one tried to open his pants. The frightened young woman screamed again and the thug who was about to pull his jeans down slapped her with the back of his hand,

"Shut your mouth bitch or I will make it even more painful for you!!" shouted the leader, "And you two, try to gag her with something. I don't want to hear that scream again."

"Okay, Izubuchi-Sama!" replied one of the idiots

The thug had the perfect idea for a gag and started to fumble at the zipper of his slacks with his free hand. Having seen enough Ranma made himself known.

"Hey you bastards, leave the girl alone!" yelled Ranma

Izubuchi turned around and started to chuckle when he saw Ranma, "Go away little boy or you could get hurt."

"Oh really?" Ranma grinned as he dashed forward with blinding speed, his initial step leaving a crack in the ground, and kicked the man in the groin. Izubuchi clutched what remained of his balls and slowly sank down to the asphalt.

On his way to meet the pavement the gang leader yelled to his companions in a high and pain-filled voice, "Get the little pest and rip him apart!"

The two henchmen dropped the girl and each of them pulled a knife out of their pant pockets. Slowly they edged nearer towards Ranma attempting to figure out how to attack the halftime-female without ending like their leader.

As Ranma saw the two now armed men, he got a strange feeling that something similar happened to him before. Suddenly his world became dark and a strange vision played out before his eyes.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

It was a dark and stormy night in the village of Ziegsturhl.

A young noble just walked out of a tavern, where he was thrown out and was about to find an inn when someone grabbed him from behind. He struggled but couldn't break the hold the man had on him. Another guy with a hood approached him, he was holding a sword in his right hand and noble realized the situation he was in.

((Robbers…)), he thought, ((I just came to this town and I'm already being robbed.))

He ended his struggling when the hooded figure stopped before him and threatened him with the sword. With his left hand the robber took the gold pouch hanging from the young man's belt and impaled him with his blade.

((Why...why did he ki...)) were the last thoughts of the noble before the darkness took over and he fell to the earth.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

Ranma snapped out of his stupor and saw the idiots running at him using the moment he was distracted. His eyes narrowed and only two words came over his lips,

"Vae Victus."

Ranma sprinted forward executing a perfect roundhouse kick to the jaw of Idiot#2, sending him flying to the trashcans lining the alley. Idiot#1 stopped in his advance to stare slack jawed at what the boy did to his friend.

Ranma took this opportunity to send a quick jab to the man's solar plexus knocking the wind out of him and making him bend forward. The jab was soon followed by an elbow to the back of the head that sent the man to the ground. His nose made a crunching sound as it was smashed against the concrete.

Idiot#2, who in the meanwhile stood back up, began to sneak up on Ranma... at least he tried to. He accidentally stepped on a can which alarmed the cursed boy to his presence. Ranma jumped up and made a flip, landing behind the thug. The man quickly tried to turn around but the last thing he heard Ranma say before everything went black was something about chestnuts and an open fire.

The Amaguriken sent the mugger crashing into his friend, who was struggling to stand up, while trying to prevent his nose from bleeding. Needless to say the impact knocked both men out.

Ranma walked up to the unconscious men and looked them over. They were still holding their knives but the young Saotome took them out of their hands and broke them into several pieces so that the men could never use them again.

Standing back up, Ranma looked around to see where the girl was and saw her huddled up in a corner of the alley. He proceeded to walk to her when he heard a squeaky voice yell behind him. Ranma turned around only to see Izubuchi leaning against a wall with a gun in his hands.

The face of the man was pale and covered in sweat; his whole body was shaking as he tried to aim his pistol at Ranma. It seemed that the pain from before didn't subside yet.

"So what are you going to do now Mr. Martial Art...Argghh!!" the man's sentence was interrupted when Ranma shot a brightly glowing ki-blast towards him.

Izubuchi was pushed backwards, to the street the alley led to and into the wall opposite of it. After the blast subsided, the unconscious man's smoking body dropped to the ground.

The gun which was knocked out of the gangster's hand landed on the pavement and let loose a shot. The bullet striped Ranma's right arm which caused him to yell at the sudden pain.

"Damn it that hurt..." muttered Ranma while clenching his teeth and looking at the wound, "...and the shirt was new too." turning around again Ranma shrugged, dismissing it, "I got more serious wounds from the uncute tomboy."

Now being finally free of the thugs, Ranma turned his attention back to the girl; he kneeled down to comfort her but then his eyes widened when he recognized the young female.

"Nabiki?" he whispered not believing who he saw. Soun's daughter was wearing a blue tank top and a black mini. She was also wearing a light blue jacket.

"R...Ranma?" said the girl, who was indeed Nabiki, as she looked at him with teary eyes, "Is it really you?"

"Yes it's me..." was the only thing Nabiki heard before she fell unconscious from fatigue.

Carefully Ranma looked her over to see if she was injured; his eyes widened a little when he noticed a nasty bruise forming on her cheek.

"Where did she..." whispered the boy and then remembered, ((That bastard slapped her...!))

Slowly Ranma picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back. He stood up and made his way out of the alley and back onto the street where he saw the blacked out gang leader lying.

"Hmmm... should I? Nah... I have to get her home first." quickly the Saotome heir dropped the thought of kicking the man one last time for what he did to Nabiki. After almost half an hour he finally reached the dojo.

"At least I didn't meet anyone on the streets." whispered Ranma, ((It would have been pretty hard to explain why I had an unconscious, injured girl with me this late at night. At least for me... with the tendency of people giving me the fault for everything...))

He entered the Tendo compound, when a sudden thought popped up in his brain, ((Should I enter through the front door or over the roof? With my luck someone comes out of his room when I carry her inside... the roof it is then...))

Tensing his leg muscles slightly, he made standing jump onto the roof. He landed with almost no sound and walked to Nabiki's window, careful to be very silent when he walked past Akane's room. This worked out fine and he finally reached his destination.

To Ranma's luck, the window was slightly opened so he put one of his feet into the gap and opened the window further so that he could enter with the unconscious girl.

Once inside, he laid Nabiki on her bed and took of her jacket, which he put next to her. Nodoka's son then closed the window and started waiting for the girl to wake up.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

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Nabiki woke up in her bed. It was still dark outside and in her room not a single light was turned on.

"Where am I...?" she asked herself, "How did I get here... and what happened to those men?"

"I think, I can answer your questions." answered a voice nearby

Nabiki's head snapped into the direction of the tone, which came from a figure sitting on a chair next to her desk.

"Who are you?" Nabiki asked, still not fully awake

The lamp on her desk was switched on and the figure was revealed as Ranma who was eying Nabiki with concern.

"Ra- Ranma? What the hell are you doing in my…" Nabiki stopped and her eyes widened as she remembered what occurred not too long ago.

"I seem to remember what almost happened tonight." said the young man with a faint smile on his lips, ((It would have been pretty hard to explain why I was here if she really forgot it...))

"You saved me, didn't you?" questioned the confused girl

"Yes, I did and I also waited here for you to wake up." replied Ranma

"Why did you do that?" asked Nabiki a bit curious.

"Why did I do what? Save you or waiting for you to wake up?" asked Genma's son

"The waiting part." replied the girl, ((I know why he saved me. He is a good person and wouldn't let anyone down if his help is needed.))

"I wanted to know if you were okay and I also want to ask you a few questions." responded the still sitting boy

"Oh… well, ask your questions." said the Ice Queen of Furinkan

" I would really want to know why you were out this late at night." said Ranma, "That was a pretty dangerous part of Nerima as you might have noticed."

"I was visiting the new nightclub, which opened two days ago with some friends." answered Nabiki truthfully

"Nabiki there was no nightclub in the area where I found you... and I didn't see any of your friends either."

The second oldest Tendo daughter looked a bit uncomfortable as she replied to the question, "I thought it was boring in the club and wanted to go home. My friends stayed behind because they were flirting with some boys so I went out alone…"

"So... then why were you walking in the opposite direction of the dojo?" interrupted Ranma

Nabiki's face turned crimson red as she answered, "Um…ItwasdarkoutsideandIdidn'trecognizeanyofthestreetssoIgotlost."

"Errr... what?" asked Ranma intelligently, ((Did I understand that right?))

"I said it was dark outside and I didn't recognize any of the streets so I got lost." replied Nabiki still blushing, "That was my first time in that area... ... and probably the last."

"Oh... you should really be more careful. Or at least take someone with you that can protect you."

"And who would that be? You?" asked the girl teasingly

"Why not, it's not like I have anything to do here."

"Hmmm... I'll consider it. It sounds very appealing." replied Nabiki and then yawned a little

"You should go back to sleep now, it was a pretty hard night." Ranma stood up and walked towards the door, "Before I forget it, you have a pretty nasty bruise on your right cheek from where that bastard slapped you."

Automatically Nabiki's hand reached up to touch it and she winched when she felt a stinging pain, "How bad is it?"

"It's slightly swollen and almost completely darkened now. Sorry that I wasn't there sooner..."

"Don't worry, it will heal and with a little bit make-up no one will notice the bruise." replied Nabiki

"I hope you're right... so... I'll go then. Good night!" he stood up and walked to the door when Nabiki stopped him with a question of her own.

"Ranma?"

"Yes?"

"Why exactly were you still out this late at night?"

"Err… I had some things on my mind and decided to take a walk to think a little bit." ((Yeah, like trying to figure out what those dreams and this vision are about.))

"So, if that was it then I'm going to sleep. Good night again." said Ranma faking a yawn.

"Wait Ran…" but he was already out of the room.

Ranma was standing now in the dark hallway contemplating what to do, "There are still around three hours to waste until sunrise. What should I do?" Ranma proceeded walking up and down the hallway, thinking.

"Ah, I know!" with that he walked out of the house.

Back in middle Tendo sister's room, Nabiki got out of her bed and started to undress. She threw her outfit and underwear into a corner where it landed with a thud and walked to her closet to get the oversized T-shirt that she used as a pajama. She also looked into the mirror that was hanging on the inside of the closet door to look at her bruise.

"Oh man... that will be hard to cover..."

She walked back to her bed and noticed that her jacket was lying on her blankets.

She picked it up to throw it to the rest of her clothes but noticed something weird. On its back was red stain, which she touched with her fingers. It was a liquid and pretty sticky, so she brought her fingers to her nose and sniffed at them. It smelled sort of metallic and out of curiosity she tasted it by licking it off.

"Blood! B- but I'm not hurt... ... Ranma!" she let the jacket drop to the ground, "But he seemed okay... ... Ugh... maybe blood from those thugs..."

She tried to spit the blood she tasted out but to no avail... she already swallowed it. She kicked the jacket away and laid down on the bed, covering herself with her blanket.

"... ... I hope they didn't have any diseases..."

Ranma stood in the middle of the dojo with closed eyes. He stood like this for several minutes then he opened his eyes. He began with a slow-paced kata and minute after minute he became faster and faster.

It was almost sunrise when Ranma's kata reached its peak. He was moving trough the air at almost Amaguriken speed as another vision flashed before his eyes.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

He found himself bound to poles near a pool of fire still with the sword in his body, in a place not meant for the living... hell or purgatory most probably.

((Vae Victus - suffering to the conquered, ironic that now I was the one suffering. Not anything as pedestrian as physical pain. Rather the cruel jab of impotent anger - the hunger for revenge.)) he thought

The noble looked around taking in his surroundings, ((I don't care if I am in Heaven or Hell - all I want is to kill my assassins.))

"I could help you with your wish, young man." said a voice from behind him

Looking around the noble saw a man, wearing a dark robe with an almost skeleton-like face

"Who are you, dark creature?"

"I am Mortanius the Necromancer and I am here to help you... if you accept my offer."

"I'll do anything to get my revenge, now send me back!"

"As you wish." said the sorcerer as he walked towards the man and ripped the sword out that was still stuck in the noble.

The man vanished and only the Guardian of Death stayed behind.

"You will have the blood you hunger for..."

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

Ranma, who was now back in the real world, noticed that the floor came nearer and braced himself for a world of pain.

**CRASH**

"Ranma, are you okay?" asked a concerned Kasumi

"Argh... that hurt!" said Ranma while rubbing his head, ((Damnit, I should have been more careful... but this vision…))

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted when Kasumi knelt beside him checking his head for wounds.

"You should be more cautious while doing your katas." said Kasumi

"Yes, I know and I can still feel it." winced Ranma as Kasumi examined his head.

"You only have a slight bump, nothing serious. In some hours you won't even feel it anymore."

((More likely some minutes.)) thought Ranma, ((Since the battle in China I heal faster than normal. It's almost scary. The gun shot from before healed already, only a small scar remained… and even that will fade away pretty soon.))

"That's good to know Kasumi. Thanks for the help." said Ranma standing up

"Ranma?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you up this early in the morning?" asked Kasumi, "Normally you don't wake up till breakfast."

"The same I could ask you." stated Ranma smirking slightly

"Yes, you could but I asked first."

((Think… think… aha!)), "Um… I couldn't fall asleep so I decided to train to tire myself out." answered Ranma, "I overdid it that's why I fell down."

"I see…"

"So why are you awake?" questioned Ranma, "It's still too early to make breakfast since the others won't stand up for the next two or three hours."

"I always stand up this early Ranma." answered Kasumi, "I love to watch the sunrise. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Err… yeah you're right", responded Ranma ((but I can think of some things that are more beautiful like a full moon or a starlit night…))

"Ranma, you should go back to sleep now so that your head can heal faster." said the eldest Tendo daughter.

"No Kasumi, I'll to keep you company. We do not often have time to talk to each other." replied Ranma, ((It's true. Since my arrival here two years ago we never really talked to each other.))

"Thanks but it's not necessary to do that."

"Who said anything about necessary? I WANT to keep you company."

"Thank you, Ranma!" and with that Kasumi stepped forward and hugged Ranma

Ranma not knowing what to do began to awkwardly return the embrace. A few moments later Kasumi broke the hug and stepped back smiling, a small blush on her cheeks.

"Not to sound rude, but what was that for?" asked the slightly confused boy

"Ranma you may not know it but no one really talked to me the past few years." said Kasumi her smile breaking, "except for the usual small talk at dinner, lunch or breakfast."

Ranma's eyes widened, "B- but what is with doctor Tofu?" ((I can't believe that I never noticed this but now that she mentions it I've never seen someone really start a conversation with her.))

"Tofu is a nice man Ranma but you can't talk with someone seriously when he dances around with a skeleton."

"Kasumi, do you even have any friends?" asked a concerned Ranma, ((That can't be, such a nice girl is bound to have many friends!))

"No, not really…" she hung her head.

Some moments later she felt two hands on her shoulder and looked up.

"Then I'll be your friend!" said Ranma smiling warmly

Kasumi's eyes went wide as tears of happiness entered them. She hugged Ranma for dear life and mumbled 'thank you' all over again. Ranma not feeling as awkward as before returned it.

Minutes passed and they let finally go of each other.

"So Kasumi-chan now that you let all of it out why don't you tell me about you."

"I would love to!" and so both of them talked for almost two hours.

"… and that's why I like history so much." said Kasumi sitting next to Ranma on the dojo floor

"Wow, who would have thought that..." replied an interested Ranma

Kasumi absent-mindedly looked at the watch on her wrist and gasped, "Oh my! The others will wake up soon. I should start making breakfast." She stood up and walked towards the exit of the training hall.

"Wait, I'll lend you a hand." said Ranma quickly strolling after her

"Thanks!" replied Kasumi gratefully, "That would be a great help."

"You're welcome!"

Quickly they made their way through the backyard and into the house. Seconds later they reached the kitchen and Kasumi went to the refrigerator and took out the needed ingredients.

"I'll make the rice and the sauce; you'll cut the vegetables and meat, Ranma."

"Okay." he said, walking to a drawer and taking a knife out of it

Ranma proceeded cutting the vegetables and gave them to Kasumi. He was about to slice the meat when he saw small drops of blood dripping from it. A strange sensation spread through his body almost locking him up, ((What the…))

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

He awoke to the pain of a new existence, in a dark womb of darkness and decay.

"Where am I?" gasped the undead, sitting up

((A grave… a mausoleum…)) he figured looking around

He stood up and stepped out of his coffin. He looked down at himself and noticed a black and red armor he never saw before.

/This is a gift from me young vampire. The armor was forged in the fires of hell with my magic. It will protect you from fire and will provide you with a strong defense./ said Mortanius' voice in the noble's mind.

"Vampire…" whispered the young man disbelievingly but then came back to his senses, "With what should I slay my assassins Necromancer? My bare hands?!"

/Of course not, look to the ground beside you. This sword was forged by the Serioli, the legendary weapon masters of Nosgoth. It will serve you well, in life and beyond and now be on your way./ with that the Guardian of Death left the vampire's mind.

The nobleman picked the sword up and walked to where he believed the exit was. On his way out he met animated skeletons which he quickly disposed off with a few slashes of his new sword.

((Probably tests of Mortanius to see if I'm capable of fulfilling my revenge. You don't see walking skeletons in Nosgoth pretty often…)) thought the man

In a secret chamber on an altar he found a scroll with strange symbols on it. He opened the scroll and the words on it were burned into his mind.

"Arghhhh!!" cried the fledgling as he fell to the ground, his armor clanking against the stone floor.

Some minutes later he stood back up still dizzy from the painful experience. The scroll was only dust now, as it served its purpose.

((What the hell… hey what is that?)) he thought confused

He found a spell in his mind which wasn't there before ((Was this the use for the scroll? So I could learn magic from it?)) asked the vampire bewildered, ((Sanctuary… with it I can travel back to this crypt when I am in danger.))

After almost half an hour he finally got out of the mausoleum. The world has changed to his eyes. He did not expect such cruelty form the light. For in the embrace of the sun, he could no longer find comfort, only malice. This would change in time for the worse, along with other things.

He left the graveyard on the search for his assassins. It was almost sunrise so he hurried. In a nearby forest he found their camp. They were sitting near the campfire on some logs and talked about the success they had tonight, while counting the money they stole.

"100 gold pieces! That will last us for the next few months, John!" shouted one of the robbers in excitement

"Yeah, who would have thought that we would earn so much money in such a dirty little village. Heh... and you already considered moving to a town like Coorhagen or Willendorf... that was the most stupid idea you ever had Michael."

((You two should have moved...)) thought the vampire and stepped into the clearing

Michael saw the undead man first and quickly stood up, taking the sword that was leaning on the log, "What trickery is this?!"

John was alarmed by this and jumped up, drawing his dagger out of his belt. When he turned around and saw the man his eyes widened in recognition, "I thought we killed you, bastard?!"

The sneering faces of the brigands were forever etched upon his memory. The noble crossed death for this moment. His mind was empty save for one thought, ((I will kill…))

"Vae Victus!"

He dashed forward towards John and slashed at the arm holding the dagger, severing it from the body, blood spraying everywhere. The brigand fell to ground clutching the stump screaming. The undead man wasn't bothered by it at all and with a swift move of his sword he through the crippled man's throat, killing him. All the while he laughed with such cruelty and coldness that it sent shivers down the remaining robber's spine.

The eyes of Michael widened when he saw what happened to his companion, "Y… you killed my brother you monster!!"

"Don't worry you'll meet him soon in hell." said the former noble with a wicked smirk.

So the battle began and their swords clashed against each other. Michael was holding himself pretty well but in the end, he joined his sibling in death. He was skilled but the superior speed and strength of the vampire were his doom. With a fast slash of his Iron Sword the noble cut through his adversary's blade and half into his chest.

The undead man pulled his sword out of Michael's barely living body, which dropped to the ground. Before he could join his brother though, a strange sensation spread through the former nobleman's body. He concentrated on his victim holding a hand out to him. To the frightened eyes of the almost dying man his blood flew through the air and into the mouth of the vampire, who swallowed it greedily.

The man, who finished feeding on the robber, looked at his now two dead murderers, "There is no greater release, now that my vengeance is sated."

/This is not over yet vampire. These fools were merely the instruments of your murder, not the cause. Look to their masters. Look to the Pillars, and gain way to the Fortress of the Mind…/ said Mortanius already leaving the fledgling's mind.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

Ranma breaking out of his stupor cut himself with the knife he was using.

"Argh, damnit!!" he said while holding his injured hand.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

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"Argh, damnit!!" he said holding his injured hand

Kasumi who heard Ranma rushed to him, "Ranma, are you okay?"

Yes, I am." answered Ranma, "It's only a small cut, nothing serious."

„Ranma, please take a seat at the table. I'm going to tend to your wound." said Kasumi after walking to a cupboard and taking a first-aid kit out of it

"There is no need to do that Kasumi." replied Ranma, "You know how fast I heal. This cut won't be noticeable in a few hours."

"Ranma. Take a seat. Now!" ordered Kasumi in a stern voice, throwing Ranma completely off since he never heard her like this.

"O-okay…" said Ranma now sitting in a chair

"Good." responded Kasumi, "Now let me take a look at your hand."

Ranma who was still a little off from Kasumi's outburst did as he was told to.

"Sorry for snapping at you like this Ranma but you had me worried." said Kasumi at the same time using alcohol from the kit to disinfect Ranma's wound.

He winced slightly but replied with a slight smile, "No need to apologize."

After patching the wound up with a plaster she stood up, "Finished, it's as good as new."

"Thanks, Kasumi."

"You don't have to thank me Ranma." replied Kasumi happily, while bringing the kit back to the cupboard, "It was a pleasure to help you."

"Kasumi, I think we should go back to making breakfast." he reminded her

"Yes, you're right."

With that both proceeded with making food for their family. One hour later almost all the other house occupants awakened from their sleep. Akane was jogging like she did almost every morning.

Genma and Soun were playing shogi on the porch, cheating to their hearts content. Happosai was nowhere to be found and Nabiki was still sleeping. Ranma was taking a quick dip in the furo and Kasumi was setting the table for breakfast.

After twenty more minutes everyone was seated at the dining table except Nabiki.

"Ranma, could you go and wake Nabiki before the food gets cold?" asked Kasumi

"Okay, Kasumi." replied Ranma standing up ((I bet she is still tired from the whole ordeal last night. Good that Kasumi asked me... I wouldn't want to see Akane's reaction, if she saw the bruise on Nabiki's face.))

"Why the pervert, and not me?" asked a slightly angered Akane

"Now listen you uncu…"

"I asked him because he was the first one that came to my mind, imouto-chan." said Kasumi trying to diffuse the tense situation, "Now Ranma, could you please go and wake her."

Ranma proceeded to walk to stairs nodding his head ignoring Akane, who still wanted to argue.

Our favorite martial-artist was now standing before Nabiki's door.

((Hmm, should I knock… …)) thought Ranma, "Nah, I know she's still asleep."

This said, he opened the door and stepped in.

Ranma, now inside the room looked at Nabiki's sleeping form. ((As I thought, she's still sleeping. What's this... the bruise is almost gone?))

The cursed boy silently walked toward the bed and kneeled down next to it, still focused on the wound on Nabiki's cheek... if you could still call it a wound.

"Nabiki, wake up. Breakfast is ready!" said Ranma shaking her slightly.

"Go away Kasumi. It's still too early…" replied a sleeping Nabiki not realizing who was talking to her.

"Nabiki, I'm not your sister." said Ranma smirking a little

Nabiki's eyes snapped open when her brain registered Ranma's words.

"What, who…?!" shouted Nabiki now fully awake

"Nabiki, cool down. It's me, Ranma."

After hearing Ranma she calmed down and narrowed her eyes, "Ranma, don't scare me like that!"

"Okay, okay…" responded the boy waving one hand dismissively, "You should hurry and change, breakfast is ready. I'm waiting outside."

Ranma was about to leave the room when Nabiki interrupted him, "Ranma?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you again for saving me last night. I won't forget it."

"You're welcome." he said smiling and left the room.

He waited for five or six minutes then Nabiki emerged from her room dressed in a green T-shirt and black leggings.

"Ready for breakfast." asked Ranma

"Yes... just one question though."

"What is it?"

"What happened to the bruise on my cheek? I looked at it last night and I doubt it could heal that fast."

"To tell the truth, I have no idea at all. Let's think about it later."

With this short exchange both of them walked to the others, who waited for them.

Back down again they entered the dinning room.

"What took you so long, Ranma?" asked a suspicious Akane

Nabiki, not wanting to see Ranma's 'foot in mouth' habit surface answered for him, "He waited outside my room so I could change."

"Oh… okay." said Akane, believing it since it came from her sister

"Now you two, sit down so we can finally start eating." said Kasumi

Nabiki and Ranma did as they were told to.

Breakfast proceeded normally, in other words that meant Ranma and Genma were fighting over food. Soun was reading the newspapers. The three Tendo daughters ate and occasionally watched the chop stick sparring match between the Saotome's. The only thing different was that Ranma was watching Nabiki frequently.

Akane however noticed this and made it known, "What the hell are you looking at Ranma?!"

"Nabiki." answered Ranma without thinking who he was talking to.

Nabiki's face reddened out of embarrassment, while Akane's face turned crimson from anger.

"Ranma no BAKA!!" screamed Akane brandishing her mallet.

Ranma's brain only now caught up to what he said and his eyes widened when he looked at Akane.

"Err… Akane, I didn't mean it like that!" said Ranma standing up and stepping back from her.

"What didn't you mean like that?! I asked who you were looking at and you said Nabiki!!" yelled Akane lifting her hammer.

"Akane, stop it!" shouted Kasumi, "Ranma's head is hurt."

The angry Tendo daughter stopped her advance since she never heard her sister yell like that.

"Ka- Kasumi…?" questioned a confused Akane, her mallet disappearing

"Akane, you finally need to grow up. You can't solve every problem with that mallet of yours... in fact, you can't solve even a single problem with it. Ranma looked at Nabiki? So what about it, let him look and don't get jealous over everything he's doing."

Everyone else in the room also looked now at Kasumi dumbfounded.

"S- sis?" asked Nabiki, ((Wow, I never thought she had it in her. Way to go!))

"Kasumi?" said a crying Soun who was reminded of his wife when she scolded him for doing something stupid like hanging around with Genma.

The before-mentioned Saotome somehow got cold water, activated his curse and held a shield up which said 'I'm only a cute little panda' since he was reminded of Nodoka who he feared even more then his master.

"Kasumi, you didn't have to do this." said Ranma not as shocked as the others since he already saw something like this earlier this morning, "I could have handled it fine."

"I know you could have but I've seen enough of these useless quarrels over the past two years." replied Kasumi, "Someone had to stop this."

"Onee-chan, why are you siding with him, I thought we are a family?" requested Akane, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We are a family and I'm not siding with anyone. I only decided to end these arguments like I should have done at the beginning."

"Hmph!" was the only thing Akane brought up before she ran to her room

"Kasumi-chan, was that really necessary?" asked her still crying father

"Yes father it was. It was necessary on the first day Ranma arrived." answered Kasumi still with a stern voice, "Maybe even before."

'Ranma, you're going upstairs and apologize to your fiancée' was written on the shield of the idiotic panda.

"Okay, I'll do it." answered Ranma not really caring, ((For what I have to apologize I don't know, but if it gets the stupid panda of my case…))

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by Kasumi, "Ranma, you're doing no such thing. Akane needs to grow up and if you go to her now she will only be supported to continue with her behavior."

Ranma silently accepted this and went back to eating.

"Kasumi, you said Ranma hurt his head. What happened?" asked Nabiki slightly concerned, ((Maybe he did he get hurt by the thugs? I never noticed something; he was fine when I woke up last night... ... the blood could have been from him...!))

"Before you all woke up Ranma was training in the dojo. He fell on his head while doing a midair kata." replied Kasumi

"Are you okay Ranma?" questioned Nabiki

"Yes, I'm fine. You don't have to worry." responded the cursed boy

"Okay, that's good to hear." said a now relieved Nabiki

Kasumi watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow, her sister and Ranma were never so civil with each other.

"I'm going upstairs now. I want to sleep a little." said the half-time female

"All right Ranma, you didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" replied Kasumi

"Yeah, I'm really tired." lied Ranma, ((It's not that I'm tired but I want to think a little bit.))

"Sleep well, Ranma."

"Yes, sleep well." said Nabiki

The students of Happosai didn't interfere in the discussion of their children and played shogi.

Ranma, who was now on the first floor walked to his room. On his way there he heard strange sounds emerging from Akane's room and decided to investigate. He knocked on her door and after some seconds of shuffling noises inside the door opened. Ranma could only see half of Akane's face, which stirred something in his mind.

"What do you want?" asked Akane with a hostile tone in her voice

But it was already too late for her to receive an answer to this question because there was yet another vision flashing before Ranma's eyes.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

The Pillars of Nosgoth, even in life, few sights have moved him such as this. He marveled that such beauty should grace this dying world.

Approaching the Pillars the vampire could see the ghost of a woman floating between them. She talked to herself.

"Nupraptor, your madness has shattered our dreams and blinded you... ", said the spirit but then she sensed someone walking toward the Pillars. She turned around and saw a white-haired man walking towards her. She floated nearer to him to get a better look.

The nobleman watched as the ghost came closer to him and was shocked when he saw the head of the spirit. One half of the face was that of a beautiful woman with blonde hair, the other side was the face of death. It was only a skull.

"Keep your distance or I'll send you back to Hell, spirit!" shouted the undead man

"There is nothing left of me to fear, vampire. I am only a shadow of my former self... Ariel - the Balance of the Circle of Nine. Even so, I can provide the answers you seek." said the dead woman

"I seek only a cure." replied the noble

"There is no cure for death. Only release. You must destroy the sorcery that is now poisoning Nosgoth. Only then will you realize peace." said Ariel and then told a story that will change the undead life of the young man forever,

"The Nine of the Protectors of Hope were sworn to use their powers to preserve our world. Now these pillars have been corrupted by a traitor. My murder at the hands of this beast drove my love Nupraptor mad. Now he spreads misery and pain among the Circle, crumbling the very foundation of Nosgoth. You must restore balance. You must right the Pillars of Nosgoth."

"I care not for the fate of this world." responded the vampire coldly

"Then for yourself... ", said the former Balance Guardian before leaving, "Beware the Unspoken…"

The ghost disappeared, leaving the nobleman to ponder his situation.

((Nupraptor, with his blind act of vengeance threatened to destroy all of Nosgoth.)) thought the man, ((Each Circle member was bonded to the Pillar he served. The Pillars reflected the mental state of their servants, and as the minds of the Circle degenerated and descended further into dementia, the Pillars crumbled.))

((To restore them, each member of the Circle had to die, and the artifact that served as their link to the Pillar had to be returned.)) reflected the undead in his head

"Only when all the Pillars were restored, did Ariel claim my curse would end." contemplated the young male aloud and went on his way

And so the hunt for Nupraptor began…

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>_

The vision ended and Ranma returned to reality where a fuming Akane was standing behind her partly opened door.

"Why are you staring at me pervert?!"

"What? I wasn't staring!" snapped Ranma back

"Then why were you looking at me for over two minutes without blinking?!" questioned Akane almost shouting

"Umm…" was the only thing Ranma brought out; ((I can't tell her about my visions. She would think I'm insane.))

"Ha, I thought so." and with that comment she slammed her door shut hitting Ranma directly into the face.

"Arghh!" yelled Ranma, rubbing his nose, "Damn tomboy!!"

Ranma proceeded to walk to his room. Once there Ranma took off his clothes until he was only clad in his boxers and undershirt, then he slipped under the covers of his futon and after almost an hour he fell asleep.

He woke up in midair on his way to the koi pond.

"What the hell?!" cried a shocked Ranma and fell into the cold water

"Why am I punished with such a lazy boy?" questioned the one who threw him out, Genma.

"What was that for Oyaji?!" yelled an angry redhead

"Boy, you slept the whole day yesterday and the whole night." answered his father

((I really slept this long??)) thought a surprised Ranma but then his anger welled up again, "But you didn't have to throw me out of the window to wake me!!"

With that both Saotome's began a fierce sparring match.

Nabiki who was woken by the quarrel looked out of her window and shook her head at the antics of father and son, ((These two will never change.))

15 minutes later the Tendo's and Saotome's were sitting at the dinning table. All of them were eating silently and Ranma was back to boy-form. After breakfast Ranma, Nabiki and Akane got ready to go to school.

"You three should hurry now or you're going to be late." said Kasumi

"Okay, Onee-chan." answered Nabiki

With this the three teenagers left. On the way to school Akane's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! I've forgotten my homework in my room!" said a shocked looking Akane, "I must go home. I still have enough time to fetch them and be in time for school."

Without thinking about the two people with her Akane ran back to the dojo.

"What was that?" asked Ranma

"No idea." replied Nabiki with a shrug

"Okay."

Ranma and Nabiki now walked alone to school, they didn't bother to wait for Akane since both of them didn't want to be late and deal with Hinako or the principal. Some minutes later they reached the school gate where Kuno waited.

"Today is the day where the evil sorcerer Saotome shall be vanquished once and for all. I, Kuno Tatewaki, will free my beloved tigress Akane and the beautiful pigtailed goddess from his evil hands." said Kuno while doing a heroic pose

"Hi Kuno, you look more demented then you usually do." said Nabiki and Ranma at the same time.

The kendoist on the other hand took the simultaneously said sentence wrong, "Ah, what do my eyes see here? The mercenary Nabiki Tendo stands under the spell of the evil wizard."

"I'm under no one's spell you idiot!" yelled Nabiki

"Is that true?" asked a suspicious Kuno

"Yes, it is." answered Ranma

"If you say the truth then I must vanquish her too!" replied the lunatic

"What?!?" was shouted out by Ranma and Nabiki

"Yes, I could have forgiven her, if she was under the spell of the fiend. Now that I know that she is willingly working with him, I shall show no mercy." said Tatewaki drawing a real katana out of nowhere.

Nabiki's eyes widened in shock when she saw Kuno running at her with full speed, he lifted the katana above his head ready to strike her down. Nabiki closed her eyes awaiting the blow that would end her life but then she heard a sound.

**CLANG**

She opened her eyes and saw to her wonderment that Kuno's sword was stopped by another, a beautifully crafted broadsword. She looked to the side to see who carried such a weapon.

It was Ranma…

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	4. Chapter 4a

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'panda signs'

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Ranma saw Kuno running straight at Nabiki with a raised katana, ((Damnit, he snapped completely!))

Kuno ran faster than ever and would reach Nabiki in only a few seconds. As this occurred Ranma was on his way to block Kuno's path. He didn't notice the black and red energy that arched around the fingers of his right hand.

When he was almost in front of Nabiki, Ranma thought, ((I need something to stop his katana. I can't block it with only my hands, it would kill me and no one would be there to protect Nabiki!))

As this went through his mind the lightning around his hand concentrated into ball and began to lengthen until it turned to the distinct form of a sword. Ranma's hand automatically closed around what appeared to be the shaft. The black-red sword of light flashed when Ranma took hold of it and turned to the Iron Sword. All this happened in almost an instant.

Ranma quickly looked down as he noticed the new weight, ((Where the hell… Nabiki!!!)), but at the moment he forgot about the new weapon since he had more urgent things to do. He lashed out with his sword stopping Kuno's blade only inches from Nabiki's face.

Kuno blinked when he saw that his weapon was halted, "Who dares to stop the righteous crusade of Kuno Tatewaki to purge the world of the evil spawns of the vile sorcerer Saotome?!"

"The so called 'sorcerer' dares, fool!" answered Ranma with an icy tone.

"Ah, the fiend finally fights with the weapon of a man and without his sorcery!" said Kuno stepping back and shifting to an advanced Kendo stance.

"Yeah, whatever…" replied Ranma shifting into a stance of his own. He held his sword in both hands, next to the right side of his face and the blade pointed to the ground.

The two fighters bent down and leaped at each other.

Soon the morning was filled with the sound of metal clashing against metal. Both fighters slashed at each other with unimaginable speeds. The warriors twirled their swords causing audible hisses with each strike.

Hits were exchanged only drawing slightly blood. Attacks were blocked and skillfully countered.

Kuno spun around, sword held out trying to disarm his opponent. Ranma saw this and quickly parried using the same technique against Tatewaki. Kuno's eyes widened when he lost his grip on the katana as it was thrown some meters away.

Ranma jumped above the boy landing behind him, his back facing the kendoist. Ranma hit Kuno with the shaft of his sword to the back of the head causing Tatewaki to fall on his knees. The cursed boy turned around looking despitefully at the kneeling Kuno. Ranma raised the Iron Sword and striked with an intense speed, while yelling,

"VAE VICTUS!"

"RANMA, STOP!!!!"

The sword stopped at Kuno's neck slightly breaking the skin and causing a little blood to flow. Ranma looked over to where the scream came from and saw Nabiki.

"Nabiki, why did you stop…?" Ranma's eyes widened, ((What have I almost done?! If Nabiki hadn't stopped me, I would have killed him!))

Ranma fell to his knees and hands dropping the sword which quickly disappeared in a black-red flash.

Nabiki rushed to Ranma and asked worriedly, "Ranma are you okay?!"

But he gave no answer, he only whispered words which she didn't understand. She looked around searching for help but Nabiki only saw the unconscious form of Kuno who fainted from shock and dumbfounded students who watched the whole ordeal. In the crowd she found the faces of two of her 'underlings' who she promptly called over to her.

"Yuki, go call Doctor Tofu and tell him there's an emergency at school!" ordered Nabiki professionally, "Sakura, you will wait at the school gate for Tofu and lead him here once he arrives."

"Yes, Nabiki-sama!!" answered her cronies, walking away.

Shortly after that, Akane came to the schoolyard wondering what all the commotion was about. She walked through the crowd and spotted Nabiki, Ranma and the unconscious Kuno in the middle.

"What happened here, Nabiki?"

Nabiki looked up from Ranma seeing her sister, "I don't really know. One moment Kuno tried to kill me, the next Ranma fights with a sword against Kuno and almost beheads him."

"Yeah right! Ranma would never fight with a weapon and he is no killer." replied Akane

"Look, sis. It all happened like I told you."

"Okay, then where is Ranma's sword?"

"It simply vanished after he collapsed." answered Nabiki looking down at the still incoherent Ranma.

"Nabiki, do you think I'm stupid? A sword can't disappear like that."

One of Nabiki's eyebrows raised, "Right now, I really think you are stupid."

"What?!"

"Akane, we're talking here about Ranma. He traveled through time using a mirror, he fought a phoenix and he can create tornados. Now say to me again that it is not possible for a sword to vanish."

Akane even had the dignity to look ashamed but that changed all too soon.

"Hmph, what does it interest me what the pervert did?" said Akane stomping of to school entrance. Nabiki watched for a few seconds in the direction where Akane walked off, shaking her head.

"You really are stupid sis…"

The crowd who witnessed the whole ordeal dispersed slowly, leaving only Ranma, Nabiki and Kuno there since it dawned on them that classes are going to start soon. Nabiki sat down next to Ranma, trying to bring him back to the real world.

"Ranma, can you hear me?" asked Nabiki, "Please answer when you can."

((He doesn't react to anything. He only stares at the ground.))

After some minutes Yuki came back with doctor Tofu.

"Doctor, it's good that you are finally here. You must help Ranma!" said the middle Tendo daughter

"Hello Nabiki, please tell me what happened here." replied Tofu with a concerned voice

Nabiki did this and retold the events that occurred this morning. Tofu listened to her only stopping her when he wanted to ask a question. After she finished he nodded to himself and thanked her.

"Okay doc, what is wrong with Ranma?"

"I'll tell you but before that please answer me a question."

"Ask away, doctor."

"Where is Kuno?"

"What?"

"I want to know where Kuno is. You said he fell unconscious. Where is he?"

"Oh that! The school apparently called his home because some minutes before you came, Sasuke arrived and carried him away."

"Oh, I really hope he is in good care."

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Nabiki?"

"What the hell is wrong with Ranma?!"

"Oh sorry, I promised you an answer. From what you told me I think he went into a shock-like state because he almost did something that he wouldn't do normally. His mind is trying to comprehend this and shut out the real world."

"Can we do something to help him?"

"Yes, first I'll use a sleep pressure point on Ranma and then I'll carry him to my office."

"I'm going to accompany you."

"Umm… don't you have school Nabiki?"

"Yes, I have but I don't care. I want to stay with Ranma."

"Why exactly do you want to stay with him?"

"Because no one else would."

This confused Tofu, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that no one really cares about him. His father only sees a free meal ticket in him. Akane cares less about Ranma than I thought. His mother would kill him if he shows any signs of being 'unmanly'. My father could care less if something happens to Ranma unless it threatens engagement. And Ranma has no real friends whatsoever."

"What about you Nabiki?"

"What about me?"

"Are you his friend?"

((Am I his friend? Hmm, that is really a good question, a few days ago I would have said no but now…))

"Yes doctor, I am!" answered Nabiki with a smile on her face

"That's good to hear."

That said Tofu bent down, pressed a pressure point on Ranma's neck and lifted him up.

"Now Nabiki, please follow me to my office."

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	5. Chapter 4b

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

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_>>>>>>>>>>>>__ Dream >>>>>>>>>>>>_

In a void of swirling black-red nothingness a single form drifted, an attractive man of eighteen years with a lean, muscular body and ebony hair done in a pig-tail. He only wore black pants and boots. On his stomach a long scar was visible.

"Where the hell am I?" asked Ranma himself

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He looked up, down and to the sides, everything was the same.

"Am I dead?" questioned the boy no one in particular

"You aren't dead." came a deep vibrant voice from everywhere around him

"Where are you?!?" yelled Ranma and after a short thought, "And who are you?!"

"Ranma, you already see me."

"Yeah right, all I see is a vacant space with black and red whirls!"

"Exactly"

"What?"

"I am everything you see. I am a part of your soul, the bigger part."

"Does that mean I don't have a whole soul?" asked Ranma confused

"Sadly no, not anymore." answered the voice.

"What the hell do you mean by 'not anymore'?!" shouted Ranma

"To explain that I must also describe why I am with you in your body." explained the voice

"Then explain." demanded Ranma

"As you wish... a long time ago, in another dimension, I fought an enemy of mine. It was only known under the name 'Elder God'. Our fight waged for hours and no one could gain the upper hand. After a long drawn out battle I prepared for the final blow that would destroy it but that never happened because the citadel we fought in began to collapse. The roof fell on the Elder God, protecting him from me. I had to flee so I wouldn't be buried too.

I went back to a device called the Chronoplast, a time machine, to bring back the weapon I fought with to where it belonged. After I activated the machine and went through the portal something terrible happened I hadn't counted with. You must know that in my world, Nosgoth, nine pillars are standing which guard the land, the Pillars of Mind, Dimension, Conflict, Nature, Energy, Time, States, Death and Balance.

The Chronoplast concentrates the power of the Time-Pillar so that it can send you through the ages. What I didn't know is that the pillars went straight through the Elder God and that it can manipulate them to a small extent. It connected the Pillar of Time and the Pillar of Dimension for a short moment. This changed the properties of the Chronoplast and the gate I went through. I was flung through the barriers that keep the different worlds apart.

After hundreds of worlds and hundreds of barriers my body couldn't keep up with the strain and slowly began to dissolve. When I arrived in your world only my soul and the weapons and armors remained. The dimensional torrents stopped and I had to find a body before the rest of me began to fade too.

That is how I met you, Ranma. You were just born, an infant, and at the moment of your first cry I moved into your body."

Ranma was shocked after the voice ended with his story, but then a thought came to his mind.

"That still doesn't explain why I don't have a whole soul." said Ranma more to himself than to the voice but it heard him

"Ranma, the way your life went is the reason that your soul is in pieces."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It all started when the fool you call father started with the 'neko-ken training'. Till this moment I was dormant, I could do nothing except watch but this twisted 'technique' awoke me. I recognized what happened to you, I've read enough about it in my world."

"The neko-ken existed in your world?" asked Ranma surprised

"Almost, but we call it 'a ritual to summon demons'"

Ranma's eyes widened as this fact reached his mind, "D- does that mean that I'm…"

"No, if the ritual is successful the child becomes a host for the demons. Its body would become deformed, an insult to the creation itself."

"Then why have I still a human form?"

"Because I was there to protect you, my soul battled the demons but almost half of your soul was lost before I could defeat them." replied the voice

"If you defeated the demons then why do I act like a cat when my fear overtakes me?"

"That was my fault. You almost died so I had to act quickly, luckily for you a kitten died in the pit. I saw its soul and drew it into you. Your broken soul clutched to the cat-soul and merged with it partially. So every time after that when your fear got too high you switched with the kitten."

"Great, I was almost possessed by demons; have only half a soul and am part cat." muttered Ranma, "Can my day get any better?"

"Ranma?"

"What?!" snapped the boy

"You have even less then half of your soul." stated the voice not at least bothered by Ranma's anger.

"WHAT?!?!"

"As I said earlier, it only started with the 'neko-ken'. You lost a great part in the time you were in Nerima."

"Just how?" asked Ranma now in a calmer voice but it sounded slightly desperate

"One reason is the Jusenkyo curse. It took a part of your soul to create your girl-form. Other reasons are the techniques you learned, like the Moko Takabisha and the Hiryuu Shoten Ha."

"How can they be the reasons for my lost soul? Cologne and Ryoga are using them too."

"Ranma, have you never wondered that you didn't end like Ryoga after you learned the Moko Takabisha?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ranma, as you know, the Shi Shi Hokodan and the Moko Takabisha are emotionally based. If someone uses them too often the feelings that are used for these techniques take the upper hand, in Ryoga's case depression. If he uses the Hokodan too much his soul gets lost, it fades away in the darkness of his depression."

"But I'm not using depression." responded Ranma

"Exactly, you are using the opposite, your confidence and the opposite happens to your soul. Your confidence burns so strong that it eats away at your soul."

Ranma looked dumbfounded, "Does that mean I'm slowly burning out?"

"Yes." answered the voice, "The process is even faster since your soul is already damaged."

"Great, just great!" said Ranma defeated, "Then how is the Hiryuu Shoten Ha manipulating my soul? I don't use my feelings to create it and the old ghoul who thought it to me is around 300 years old."

"It's not the Hiryuu Shoten Ha itself but the revisions you made, like the Hiryuu Korin Dan. When you focused the energy of the half-dragon through you, you used your soul to channel it. The foreign ki had an even worse effect on your soul then your confidence. Your soul was almost ripped apart if I hadn't held onto it."

Ranma who was now expecting almost everything asked another question, "I know I will regret the answer but did I loose more of my soul after that or not?"

"I think you know the answer to that already, when you fought the phoenix he almost destroyed you. His power was one of the greatest I have ever felt before. You almost destroyed all of your soul with the Hiryuu Hyou Toppa."

"Okay, then I have to be more careful in the future in what techniques I use."

"It's not that easy Ranma. Normally you should have died a long time ago when you first went into that pit; the only thing that kept you alive was me. That's why you see some of my memories."

"Does that mean I'm internally dead?"

"No Ranma, not yet but I can't prevent it much longer."

"How much time do I have left?" asked Ranma with a resigned voice

"Most probably you have two months left before your life ends."

"Two months? Much less then I thought." said Ranma, "What will happen to you when I die? Do you get my body?"

"It's not that easy Ranma. If that would happen I would have let those demons kill you all those years ago. No Ranma, I will vanish with you."

"Is there a way to prevent this?"

"Maybe but I don't know if it would work."

"What is it?"

"We could merge our souls to one and become a single being."

Ranma thought about this, ((I could live on but I won't be Ranma anymore… On the other hand we would become one of the most powerful warriors in existence… I mean his soul is so big compar… Wait a minute.))

"Hey, what will happen to me if I combine with you? There's a pretty huge size-difference between my soul and yours."

"That was what I meant with 'I don't know if it would work'. It can go in three different ways. First we both merge equally and become a whole new person, secondly I absorb your soul and will be slightly influenced by you or the third is that I absorb your soul and won't be affected by it at all."

"That's great!!" replied Ranma in a sarcastic tone "Is there any chance for my soul to be dominant?"

"No." answered the voice

Ranma sweat dropped, ((He didn't have to say it that bluntly…))

"Do I have to decide now?" asked Ranma

"No you don't. We have two months before we die." responded the voice

((That's really a great choice… die, merge or being absorbed by a large red-black being.)) thought Ranma

"Hey you, I bet you didn't look always like bloody shadow. Can you take on some other form? It is really hard to talk to such a large room. Also could you tell me your name?" said the teenager ((I'm not going to unite with someone whose name I don't even know…))

"That's not a problem." answered the voice and Ranma could almost feel it smirking

The room began to swirl stronger and stronger, it transformed into a giant torrent around Ranma. It pulled at him and he could feel the very power emanating from the soul. It started to gather in front of the boy and a black figure was shaped by it. Before it was fully formed the man began to talk.

"My name is …"

But those words were lost on Ranma. He was feeling a stinging pain in his chest and when he looked at himself, he noticed that he was fading. He fell to his knees no longer having the strength to stand. A moment later he was completely vanished.

Only one figure remained in the now black space, he was standing tall with long white hair cascading down his back. He had talons instead of hands and green-yellow skin. He was similarly dressed as Ranma only seconds ago, black pants and no shirt; the only difference was that he wasn't wearing boots. There was also a long scar visible on his abdomen.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>__ End Dream >>>>>>>>>>>>_

Ranma shot up from where he was lying. He panted a little and was covered in sweat. The cursed boy looked around the room, trying to find out where he was. He was sitting in a bed, in what looked like a doctor's office.

"I'm at Tofu's place… Was it only a dream?" whispered Ranma perplexed

He leaned back a bit and thought about what occurred to him. Ranma tried to call the man with his mind but it didn't work. That was when he heard slight breathing noises from his side. The teen turned his head to see someone sleeping in a chair next to his bed who he didn't expect.

"Nabiki…"

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	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nabiki…"

Ranma looked warmly at the sleeping girl; he never would have expected her to care about him even if he saved her last night. He slowly stood up and noticed for the first time that he was only wearing his boxers. He began searching for his clothes, all the while sneaking around because he didn't want to wake Nabiki. Ranma didn't find anything though,

"Just where the hell are they?" he whispered to himself

"If you are looking for your clothes, don't bother, I threw them away." said a voice behind Ranma

The pig-tailed martial artist almost jumped to the ceiling in shock, he quickly turned around to see Dr. Tofu standing in the door, looking sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." said the doctor

((God, I wish I would know how he's always doing this.)) thought Ranma and then replied, "Don't worry doc, I should have paid more attention. Now... did I understand you wrong or did you really say that you threw my clothes away?"

"They had several rips in them and they were blood stained, so I threw them away."

"Then what should I wear? I can't go back to the dojo like this." stated Ranma while gesturing at his boxers with his hands

"You can have one of my gi; they may be a bit too big for you, though."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No need to thank me, Ranma." replied the doctor with a friendly smile

"Hey, doc."

"What is it?"

"How long was I out?"

"Almost the whole day, the sun is already setting."

"Really?" asked Ranma surprised, ((Did I really spend so much time talking to that man?))

"Really, when I came to the school you were in a state of shock, I used a shiatsu point to make you unconscious. I was really surprised that it lasted this long, it effects should have faded after an hour." said Tofu thoughtfully

((They probably did but this guy certainly kept me asleep.)) considered Ranma in his mind, "Did Nabiki stay here all the time?"

"Yes, I told her that she should go back to school or at least back to the dojo but she persisted to stay with you."

Ranma smiled at this, he didn't know many people who would care about him like that… okay, he knew no one who would do that, except maybe his mother.

"Ranma, is that you?" said a voice from the side

Both men turned in that direction and saw the now awake Nabiki who looked at them with sleepy eyes.

"Yeah, I stood up some minutes ago." replied Ranma, "We can go back to the dojo after I am dressed."

"Okay, I'm waiting for you here." said Nabiki while stretching a little and giving of a yawn

Ranma went with Dr. Tofu to get the clothes, after some time they came back down and the teenagers said their farewell to the doctor. On the way back home both of them talked about the events of the day.

"Ranma, what happened to you at school?" asked Nabiki concerned, "You never used a weapon before and you almost killed Kuno."

"I don't know, I saw that you were in danger and suddenly this sword appeared. Everything went red before my eyes and I began fighting Kuno. The next coherent thought I had was when you yelled my name, then everything went black." answered Ranma, ((No need to tell her that I share my body with another soul…))

"Ranma, what else is wrong?" questioned Nabiki further

"Wha- What do you mean?" responded Ranma with several sweat drops appearing on his forehead, ((How the hell did she notice that I didn't tell her everything?!))

"Well, I mean that red glow surrounded you while you were asleep and that you mumbled some incoherent things too."

"Errr… what things did I say exactly?" asked Ranma, ((Please Kami-Sama, don't let her have heard what I discussed with this man!))

"Something about the neko-ken, demons and your soul… but I couldn't make anything out that would make sense."

"Oh yeah, I had such nightmares before when I was younger, mostly the first months after the Cat-fist training." said Ranma, ((Please let her buy it!!))

"Hmmm… then what about the strange glow?" asked the girl again

"Errr... I don't know?"

"Come on, tell me what's going on, it's not like I'm going to sell it to others."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at this; his whole face expressed 'do you take me for an idiot?'

"What is it?! Why do you look at me like this?"

"Nabiki, think about the sentence you just said."

The girl's right eye began to twitch, "Ranma, for what do you take me?! You saved my life, do you really think that I'm still going to sell you out?!"

"Well, it's not like you indicated that anything changed." replied the young man

"Ranma, you may not know it but if someone gains my trust, he can always depend on me and you certainly did that."

"You don't have many friends Nabiki, do you?" asked Ranma

"What do you mean?"

"If someone needs to save your life to gain your trust you can't have many friends."

"Do you mean to say that no one would be willing to save me?!" said Nabiki in a sharp voice

Ranma was totally obvious to her angry tone, "No but I don't think that you often come into situations where you need to be saved."

"Oh…" Nabiki felt a bit embarrassed, she almost had a rage fit like her little sister, ((How can he be so insulting without even knowing?))

"Nabiki, you didn't answer my question."

"What que… oh yeah, about the friends!" said Nabiki and then lowered her head a little, "No, I don't have any friends."

Ranma now looked at Nabiki weirdly; he wasn't very serious with his question, "What about the girls that always hang around with you?"

"You mean Sakura and Yuki? They are only interested in the money I earn, not me."

"Then why aren't you ditching them, It's not like you need the girls."

"They are cheap workers." responded Nabiki while shrugging with her shoulders

"Oh…" was Ranma's intelligent answer and then looked down the street again, "Hey look, we're almost back!"

"Ranma?"

"Hmm?"

"What was that strange glow?" she asked with a small smile

((Damn, I thought she forgot that when I changed the subject! Well, maybe she is going to believe me…)) thought Ranma, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Well, then you have to wait a little bit longer, I don't want to tell you here on the streets."

"Why not?" questioned the girl curiously

"The usual, you know? Cross-dressing inanimate objects, rat-like ninjas, ancient perverts and ghouls, insane amazons and people without a sense of direction, they are all wandering around here."

"Okay, you have a point. Let's wait until we are back home."

It didn't take them long to reach the Tendo dojo and when they entered it a small surprise awaited them. In the living room Ranma's mother was sitting along with Kasumi, Soun and Genma.

Nodoka looked up to the teenagers and said, "Ranma, Nabiki, where have you been? We were worried about you!"

"Yes, boy!! What where you thinking staying away from home like this, we needed your help with the master!!" yelled Genma, earning a glare from his wife

"WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Nabiki you are alive!!!!!" wailed the head of the Tendo clan

Kasumi didn't say anything but the two youths noticed the relieved look on her face.

That was when Nabiki replied, "Didn't Akane tell you?"

"Tell us what? She came home from school, went up to her room and stayed there for the rest of the day." responded Nodoka

"Well it was like this…" the middle Tendo daughter proceeded with retelling the events of the day (she left the talk she had with Ranma and what she heard and saw when he was asleep out, though), "…then we arrived back here."

At the end of the story, Mrs. Saotome and Kasumi were the only one's who were still listening; Genma was laying unconscious in the backyard because he threw a fit when he heard that HIS son used a weapon… Ranma quickly knocked him out. Soun was unconscious too but he passed out because lost too much water through his tears.

"Son are you okay, what about your injuries?" asked the worried Nodoka

"Injuries? I don't have any injuries… I would have noticed them when I got dressed."

Nabiki looked at Ranma oddly now, ((I know he was hurt in the fight against Kuno… His clothes were bloodied… I know he heals fast but this is ridiculous.))

"Ranma, Nabiki, why don't you go to the kitchen and eat something, Aunty and me saved some of the dinner for you." said Kasumi

"Yes son, I think too that you should eat, both of you had a long day and you should strengthen yourselves." came from Nodoka

"What are you and Kasumi going to do, mom?" asked Ranma

"We are going to bring these two…" she said pointing to the two unconscious men, "…back to their rooms."

"Shouldn't I help you with that?" questioned the martial artist

"No, you two go and eat, leave Genma and Soun to us!" replied Nodoka in a stern voice

"O- okay! Come on Nabiki!" responded Ranma while grabbing Nabiki by the arm and running to the kitchen

Nodoka turned back to Kasumi and said, "Well, now for your father and my husband…"

The kitchen…

Both teens were sitting at the table, eating.

Nabiki then asked Ranma, "So, we're alone, are we going to talk now?"

"What I'm going to tell you is a secret; I really hope that I can trust you." answered Ranma after swallowing his last bite

"I said it once and I say it again, you CAN trust me!"

"Good, I only hope you won't think that I'm insane… It started one month ago…" Ranma told her everything that happened the last month; about his dreams, visions and finally about his talk with strange soul that resides within him.

After almost two hours he was finished and Nabiki had a shocked look on her face, "You are going to die?"

"That's at least what he told me."

"How can you take that so calmly, that man said you are going to DIE!!" Nabiki could never accept death ever since her mother died, she was totally afraid of it

"Well, I won't die necessarily, I can still merge with that other soul." replied Ranma casually

"But you won't be you anymore, Ranma!"

"It's either that or death… I think the former is a better choice."

"Come on Ranma, can you even trust this being? That was the first time you talked with it, how can you know if it's trustworthy?!" questioned Nabiki loudly, "It could be some kind of monster that trying to get your body!"

"It's not like I have much of a choice, besides I felt that I could trust him, he radiated a sense of honor I never saw before."

"I still can't understand how you can accept death so easily…" said Nabiki on the verge of tears

Ranma in one of his moments of not being completely unaware of the emotions of others noticed Nabiki's condition. He walked to the girl and hugged her,

"Nabiki, why are you so sad?"

"It's just that I don't want to lose another person I care about… It was terrible enough when I lost mother but I couldn't bear it to lose the first friend I ever had."

"How about this, I swear that I will be there for you for all eternity, if you ever need me."

Hearing this, Nabiki looked up from Ranma's shoulder and into his eyes; she quickly shot forward and kissed him on the lips,

"Thank you!" and with this words the girl ran to her room

Ranma had a glazed look on his face and touched his lips with his fingers,

"She kissed me…"

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	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

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The next morning…

Ranma was sitting with crossed legs in the dojo; he decided to skip school for today and stay home trying to figure out how to reach the man he talked to and how to summon that sword he used against Kuno. His mother wouldn't agree at first but with the help of Nabiki he could convince her otherwise.

Ranma was only wearing his usual black pants and slippers; his shirt was placed near the entrance of the dojo. He was beginning with a meditation exercise he learned in his ten year long training trip. The monks he learned it from told him that he could reach deep within his soul with this technique.

Five minutes later…

"God damn it!" exclaimed Ranma as he remembered something, "That technique can be only used to reach into ones own soul! I can't reach something that's not in my soul!"

"Maybe I should try something easier…" Ranma thought back to yesterday when he fought Kuno, ((How did that sword appear… it had something to do with Nabiki being in danger or was it what I felt at the moment? Time for a little test…))

Ranma held his right hand in front of him, palm upwards and started concentrating,

"Moko Takabisha!"

A ball of pure yellow light appeared some inches above Ranma's palm; he was strained to keep it in place so that he wouldn't destroy the roof of the dojo. After some seconds he got the hang on it and relaxed a bit, he examined the glowing sphere, touching it with his other hand and feeling it with his other senses, ((That's not like the energy I felt when the blade appeared… Maybe if I try this…))

Ranma tried to feed the ki with different emotions and always got different results, mostly changes in color or size of the ball.

((Not one of them feels similar… … maybe if I use no emotions at all?))

Ranma started using the Soul of Ice now, making himself completely devoid of any emotions and supplying the ki with pure coldness. It became white and grew a bit but nothing else changed.

"Damn!" shouted Ranma and crushed the ki ball in his hand, "What am I doing wrong?!"

"Ranma, are you okay?" asked a voice from the side

Ranma turned his head towards the sound, seeing his mother standing at the entrance of the dojo, she was dressed, as usual, in a formal kimono, "I'm fine, mom. I only try to figure something out."

"Why don't you ask your father, if it has anything to do with martial arts?"

"Errr… Mom, I surpassed Oyaji over two years ago, there's nothing left that he could teach me."

"Tell me what your problem is, maybe I can help you."

"Well, I told you yesterday that I fought against this guy Kuno with a sword."

"Yes."

"See, I'm trying to figure out where this sword came from, it suddenly appeared in my hand."

Nodoka sat down next to her son and rested her chin on her palms, "What exactly is the problem?"

Ranma thought a little and replied, "Hmmm… It's like this, before the sword appeared I felt a strange kind of energy, it gathered in my hand and then formed the blade. Now I'm trying to recreate the energy…"

"How?"

"Huh?"

"How are you trying to recreate the energy?"

"That's how… Moko Takabisha."

Like before he held his right palm upward and again a yellow colored ball of light appeared. Nodoka's eyes widened at the sight, she reached out with her hand and gave Ranma a quick look, he nodded and she touched the ki, as her fingers came into contact with the energy she suddenly felt unbelievably confident. She pulled her hand away again and said,

"What is this?"

"That is a ki technique I learned some time ago, I use my confidence to make it stronger."

"But if you have used it so often why did the sword never appear before?"

"That's because it's not the energy I felt when the sword appeared. I tried to fuel the ki with different emotions but not one felt quite like the one back then."

Nodoka looked thoughtful at this; she really wanted to help her son since she couldn't do anything for him for over ten years. She thought back to the time when she trained together with her great-grandfather who was a master swordsman but she was always a little clumsy with the blade.

_Flashback…_

A thirteen year old Nodoka sat on the ground of a dojo, she was dressed in a hakama, the top was white and her pants were red. Her hair was bound in a short ponytail. Across of her sat an old man, he had long gray hair that reached down his back, on his right cheek was a cross-shaped scar and his eyes had a vibrant violet color.

"Nodoka-chan, I know you mean well with all the training you do but you don't concentrate enough, you always do the physical exercises but your mind is not with you, that's why you broke your knee last year. Before you can become a master your spirit and your body must be balanced!"

That was when Nodoka's great-grandmother called, "Nodo-chan, Kens…"

_End Flashback…_

"Mom, are you okay?" asked Ranma a bit worried, "You spaced out a little."

She blinked at her son's words and shook her head clear from those past memories, "I'm fine, don't worry. I only thought back to the time when my great-grandfather was still alive, I trained under him."

"Was he a martial artist?" asked Ranma curiously, ((I don't know anything about mom's family.))

"No, he was a swordsman and even fought during the time of the Meiji-War… He was a great warrior and I always wanted to be like him but I was never all that good with the sword…"

"D-during the Meiji-War?!" exclaimed Ranma, "That was over a century ago!"

"Why are you so surprised? It's not like you don't know people who are several centuries old."

"Who… …? Oh… those two… … I never thought of the ghoul and the pervert as humans…"

Nodoka giggled at this and replied, "Ranma, you should respect your elders."

He didn't believe her one word though since he noticed that his mother was trying not to laugh out loud, "They look more like small monkeys; I mean the only thing that is missing is the fur…"

This time Nodoka did broke out into mad laughter and alongside her Ranma, they rolled on the floor and if anyone came in seeing them like this, they would have thought they went insane. After a few minutes both of them calmed down again, they were breathing hard and clutched their sides with tears running out of their eyes.

"Oh man… I needed that…" said Ranma first

Nodoka nodded, "I don't know when the last time was I laughed like this…"

"So… What did you remember exactly about great-grandfather?"

"He always said to me that to become a great fighter someone must find a balance between the soul and body… I never quite understood what he meant since I wasn't very much on the spiritual side of things."

Ranma's eyes widened at this though, "A balance… …? A balance!! That's it!"

Nodoka was surprised at her son's outburst, "What?"

"Thanks mom!!" responded Ranma and his mother a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll have to try this!"

"Ranma, what is it?"

"You'll see I'm certain it will work!"

Ranma stood up and took a stance, his aura started to appear around him and it illuminated the whole room in blue light. He held his right hand out and started his experiment.

"HAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Nodoka watched with wide eyes as her son's aura blinked out of existence and was replaced with black-red lightning that arched around his body, more and more of the energy appeared shrouding Ranma almost completely from view. There was a quick flash of bright red light and Nodoka had to shield her eyes, as the glow slowly faded away she looked back to her son and gasped in shock.

Ranma was dressed in a black armor, with a red piece of clothing that that seemed to cover his whole body except his head like a second skin. The armor consisted of a black breastplate that also covered his back, black shoulder guards, black bracers on his forearms and black leg guards, all the pieces were rimmed by gold. Ranma also wore brown leather boots. In his right hand he held the Iron Sword. His pigtail also seemed longer than before, reaching now almost his hips.

Ranma looked down at himself, stunned at what he was wearing; he never expected such a reaction when he tried his experiment. He examined the finely crafted sword in his hands, which was followed by a few practice swings. When he was finished he brought the blade over his shoulder as if he was sheathing it and the sword stayed there like it was attached to the armor. Now he took his time to take a closer look at the armor, he noticed that its weight was almost nonexistent and he almost couldn't feel that red stuff that was attached to his skin. That was also when he remembered something important, his mother. He turned his head towards her and saw that her mouth was moving but nothing came out. Ranma walked towards her and shook her slightly by the shoulders,

"Mom, snap out of it!"

It worked and she regained her composure, to bad for Ranma that one of his visions started in that moment,

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>> _

He was sitting on a throne in a gigantic palace, ruins of what once seemed pillars behind him. There where five other people in the room with him, two on his left and three on his right, they all looked almost human but they had talons and claws instead of hands and feet. They were also very pale and had black hair.

Suddenly a man entered the throne room and walked up to the middle standing before the throne, he strode into through the room like a predator, full of grace and hidden strength. He too, like the others, had black hair and these strange hands and feet. He wore black leather pants and his chest was free except something like a red cape hanging over his right shoulder. As the man reached his destination, he kneeled down and started to unfold wings that were till now hidden away from the view of the man sitting on the throne. As the kneeling man finished unfolding his bat-like wings he stretched them fully, showing everyone their true size.

The man on the throne stood up and strolled towards his kneeling general. Shortly before he reached the one on the ground, the black-haired man stood up again. The other man wasn't bothered by it in the least and started to touch the wings lightly, the black-haired all the while following his movements with his head, as the other man had each of his claws on one of the wings, he pulled… hard… and the man screamed,

"AAAARRRRGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

His shouts of pain echoed through the hall as he fell to ground and blood splattered everywhere. The other man threw the wing bones he ripped out to the ground and motioned for two of the other men to pick the wounded one up.

Later…

They walk up the side of a cliff, dragging the wounded vampire with them, under them the abyss, where weaklings and traitors met their punishment. The man from the throne was there too, he looked a last time at his first general turned his head away and said,

"Cast him in."

And they followed his order, they threw their brother over the side and they all could hear his screams of fear, betrayal and hatred as he fell towards his damnation and as he was swallowed by the swirling water, the burning began and it would last for the next thousand years nurturing his hatred towards his creator.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>> _

"Raziel!" shouted Ranma

"Ranma?! Ranma, are you alright?!" said Nodoka concerned

Ranma shook his head clear and his eyes focused on his mother again, "Y-yes, I'm okay… What happened?"

"Your eyes glazed over and it looked like you weren't conscious at all." replied Nodoka still worried about her son, "Are you sure that everything is right?"

"Yes… it was just a… …"

"A what?"

"A vision." responded Ranma, sighing heavily, he couldn't lie to his mother… or anyone else for that matter, "I've been having them for some months now… or something similar anyway."

"Visions? What about?" asked Nodoka apprehensively

"Take a seat, it's going to be a long story…" with this said Ranma sat down on the dojo floor himself and was quickly followed by his mother who was anxious to her son's story.

After two and a half hours Ranma finished telling his story and his eyes widened as Nodoka hugged him with a strength that surpassed his father's 'Cradle of Hell' technique.

"My son, I won't let anything happen to you!"

"A- air… … … p-please… … n-n-need… to… … breathe…" brought Ranma out as he slowly turned blue

Nodoka noticed this and quickly let go of him, Ranma collapsed to the ground and coughed several times, breathing heavily, "Thanks…"

"Sorry…" replied his mother looking sheepishly but then got serious again, "But what are you going to do? Do you trust this man?"

"Yes, I do. I don't know why but I do." responded Ranma sitting up again, "I already told it Nabiki, I could feel an unbelievable sense of honor from him."

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes, I am." said Ranma and stood up, "Mom, I made my decision. I'm going on a training trip to try to figure out how to contact that man. I can't do that here, I need peace to do this and I won't find that in Nerima."

Nodoka rose too and looked her son straight into the eyes and after a short time she gave in, "I'll allow it. I hope you come back soon."

"Thanks mom." responded Ranma hugging her, "I'll go and pack my things now."

"Ranma, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What is it?" asked Ranma curiously

"The armor…"

He looked down at himself and started to scratch the base of his pigtail, "Oops…"

"Do you know how to make it disappear?"

"Errr… … No but maybe…" he closed his eyes and concentrated, after a few seconds the armor and the sword started to glow and with a flash they disappeared again. Ranma was now dressed in what he wore before he summoned the armor and his pigtail was shorter again.

"What did you do?"

"Well, I used all my emotions at once again together with my ki and tried to will the armor away. It worked obviously."

"Good that it worked, I don't know how your father would have reacted if he saw you in an armor."

"Thanks for reminding me, bye mom."

He walked towards the exit of the dojo but stopped shortly to pick his shirt up; he threw it over his shoulder and left the room. Nodoka stayed alone in the training hall watching as her son disappeared into the house, "Please be careful… I don't want to lose you again."

Some hours later…

After a long day of school Nabiki and Akane entered their house,

"Hello, we're home!" said both girls in unison as they put on their slippers

They walked to the living room and were surprised to see their father and Genma unconscious on the floor with several bandages covering their beaten bodies. Nodoka and Kasumi were both sitting on the couch drinking tea and chatting a little.

"What happened here?" asked Nabiki, "Did Happosai come back from one of his 'errands'?"

"Hello you two." greeted Nodoka as she looked at the girls, "Those two idiots there were beaten by Ranma as he said that he was going to leave for a training trip."

Nabiki's eyes widened at what Nodoka said, "A training trip?! When did he leave?!"

"Four hours ago." responded Nodoka, sipping on her tea, "Where he went I don't know."

"Baka!" exclaimed Akane angrily, "Why didn't he take me with him? I'm a martial artist too!"

As Akane stomped of to her room Nodoka said to Nabiki, "I need to talk to you about Ranma."

"Really? What is it?" asked Nabiki

"Kasumi-chan, would you excuse us?"

"Don't bother; I'll have to prepare dinner anyway. You two can talk here." this said Kasumi stood up and left the room in direction of the kitchen

"Nabiki-chan, please sit next to me."

She complied and sat down next to Nodoka, leaning her schoolbag against the table in front of her, "So, you want me to figure out where Ranma went?"

"No, he told me today what happened to him."

"H-he told you? E-everything?" asked Nabiki surprised

"Everything." stated Nodoka

"E-even that he c-could…"

"Even that he could die…" replied Ranma's mother

"Aren't you worried about him?"

"Of course I'm worried about my son! But I also trust him that he can come out of this situation."

Suddenly both of them heard a gasp; they turned their heads to the sound to see Kasumi standing in the doorway leaning against the frame, "D-die…?"

Both of them jumped up from the couch and ran to the girl as she collapsed to the floor in shock, "Kasumi!"

_A forest near Nerima…_

Ranma reached the woods an hour ago and now searched for a place where he could camp without being discovered by one of his rivals or fiancées. He wasn't doing a good job at it though since he was lost in thoughts.

((Damn, I still have no idea how to reach that man… Well, at least I can summon that sword… and the armor.))

Still walking around without paying attention to his surroundings, Ranma didn't see the log of an old tree lying on the ground in front of him.

**CRASH**

"Argh!!!" shouted Ranma as he rubbed his head, "Damn, why does that always happen to me?"

Ranma stood up and for the first time he looked where exactly he was, it was an empty site with an old fireplace in the middle and other logs like the one he stumbled upon around it.

"Well, I'll be… Now I found a place where I can stay."

He spent the next hour with putting up his tent and searching for firewood, he also found a rather big clearing where he could practice later on. After he brought the wood to his camp, he went back to his new training spot.

"Time to test out my new weapon." he said to himself

Ranma used his 'balance ki' to summon his armor and sword and started a complicated kata that came to his mind. As he progressed he was more and more astonished how easily he could move in the armor, it was almost like he wasn't wearing it at all.

All of a sudden a strong wind blew across the clearing and Ranma got a new idea to train with his sword as he saw the leaves that fell off the trees floating in his direction. He got into a new stance with his blade and started with a deadly dance. Leaf after leaf was cut in half before they could even reach the ground, he got faster and faster and the pieces of the leaves were getting smaller and smaller since he started to cut them several times over.

Three hours later he was finished with his training session, the sun already started setting and pearls of sweat were dripping down Ranma's face.

Suddenly Ranma heard rustling in a bush nearby, he quickly turned around and pointed the Iron Sword at it,

"Come out!"

Nothing.

"I said COME OUT!"

An evil cackle was heard from the bush and a small form jumped out of it, Ranma recognized it instantly and said with a disgusted whisper,

"Happosai…"

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	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

--------------------------------------------------------------

"She's waking up." said a concerned voice

Slowly she opened her eyes and she could see the silhouettes of two people leaning over, she blinked a few times to clear her sight and started to recognize the persons, "What happened?"

"You collapsed, Kasumi." answered Nabiki, "Aunty Nodoka and I brought you to your room."

"Why… …?" asked Kasumi but then, just as she closed her lips, she remembered and shot up from her bed, "You said something about Ranma dying!"

Nabiki looked at Nodoka and after a moment they silently agreed and nodded, turning her eyes back to her sister Nabiki started,

"Well… It was like this…"

_Back to the forest..._

"Happosai…" said Ranma with an icy voice

"I see you picked up weapons." responded Happosai, while pulling his pipe out of nowhere

"What is it to you?"

"As the Grandmaster of Anything Goes I can't allow that! In our school weapons are forbidden!"

Ranma turned around and started to walk away casually, "I don't care what you allow or disallow, I'm doing what I think is right."

"We will see that boy. I will show you the consequences of disobeying your master! Prepare yourself!"

That said Happosai jumped towards Ranma intending on striking the back of his head, the old man was surprised when Ranma turned around again and hit him with the flat of his blade. The blow was strong enough to smash the old man through a tree at the edge of the clearing. As soon as his feet touched the ground again Happosai started to sprint towards Ranma at an incredible speed. Now only four meters away from Ranma the creator of Anything Goes used one of his trademark techniques,

"Happo Dai Karin!!"

Happosai threw ten of the destructive bombs but Ranma couldn't dodge anymore since he was too shocked that Happosai could still fight after the hit he took. Eight of the grenades hit Ranma directly, the other two landed on the ground in front of him. The resulting explosion was deafening, the birds in the forest all flew away in shock at the sudden loud noise.

"Ranma, this will teach you not to disobey your master!!"

Happosai's view was obscured though thanks to the pillar of smoke rising from the ground. Not bothered by this the pervert turned to leave; he was disrupted when he heard a voice coming from the column,

"You will pay for that."

Happosai jumped with surprise and turned towards the voice and what he saw scared him to no end. Out of the smoke came a tall figure, a man who wore the same armor as Ranma had just seconds ago but the old master knew that it wasn't Ranma. The man's skin was whiter than snow and his long silver hair was descending down his back, no trace of a pigtail.

As he came nearer Happosai could see more features, the most prominent were the bared fangs and the red glow of the eyes. In each of his hands the man was holding a dangerous looking axe, which seemed to call out for blood to be spilled… … by them.

"Foolish human, this was the last act of your worthless life."

Swallowing his fear, Happosai answered, "You don't scare me boy! I may not know who you are but I certainly know what you are and be sure that you are not the first vampire that a destroyed in my life!!"

"Really?" the man raised an eyebrow at this, Hmmm… So vampires do exist in this world… how interesting.

"Yes, and now it's your turn to be vanquished!" yelled the old master

The man smirked coldly and said again, this time with an amused tone, "Really?"

Suddenly he blinked out of existence and Happosai felt how he was lifted from the ground; slowly he turned his head to see the vampire holding him by his clothes.

"Time to die." and that was the moment the pain started

Electricity began to race through Happosai's body; he tried to free himself but the intensity of the energy rose with every second and then it suddenly stopped and he fell to the ground. Happosai weakly turned his gaze towards the monster that almost killed him, he didn't like what he saw.

The vampire had his right had pointed at the old man and his eyes were glowing red again, "Lighting takes too long… … Immolate."

Before Happosai could even feel any pain he started burning, the flame hot enough to rival the surface of the sun. A moment later it was over and on the ground only a heap of ash remained, which was quickly blown away by the wind.

That was also the moment the vampire fell to the ground, but before he could touch the earth there was a flash of light and the nosferatu wasn't there anymore. The smoke of Happosai's last attack was fading and on the ground was the unconscious Ranma, who didn't move since the bombs exploded, he had burns all over his face which were rapidly healing and the armor protected the rest of his body.

_Two hours later…_

Ranma woke up with a splitting headache and got shakily to his feet. He looked around to see where he was, after a few moments his mind started kicking back in and he remembered what happened.

"Happosai..." muttered the young man, "I never thought he was insane enough to throw that many bombs at someone."

"How long was I out anyway? Oh well... seems that the old pervert disappeared, that's too bad."

Ranma let his armor and sword disappear and walked back to his camp to make himself something to eat. Once he reached the site he made a fire and rummaged through his backpack to find the food he brought with him.

"Where is all the stuff? I had enough to last me at least two days with me..." wondered Ranma, "...Happosai... he must have found this place before he got to me."

He stood back up and rubbed his head in thought, "Hmm... I think there was a river nearby... It's time for some fishing."

Ranma walked back into the forest and after only five minutes he reached a small, clear stream, where several different sized fishes were swimming.

"Now... ... how do I get them without getting wet in the process?" asked the boy no one in particular and after a few seconds of thinking an idea formed in his head, "That could actually work... I hope."

He walked behind a tree to cover himself and then pointed with one arm at the river, "Moko Takabisha!!"

The ki-blast hit the water and caused a small explosion and bathed the area in yellow light. After it subsided Ranma marched back to the bank and saw that there were in all six fishes lying on the sides of river, two on his side and four on the other.

He picked all of them up, which was easy due to their small size and walked back to his camp. Back there he proceeded to gut and clean the fishes and spear them on some small branches he found nearby. Then he stuck the branches into the ground around the fire so that the fishes were near to the flame.

As Ranma waited for his meal to roast, his gaze began to linger on the fire. Like he was hypnotized by it, the young man stared deeper and deeper into the fire and suddenly another vision appeared in his mind.

_>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>> _

A strange being entered the Sarafan's relic hall; it didn't seem to have any semblance of skin or organs. Only its arms, legs and ribcage were covered by a thin layer of blue muscles. It had short black hair and white, glowing eyes and wrapped around its shoulders and mouth was a brown cowl with a white symbol.

On its back there were the remains of what once could have been wings and it also didn't have human-like hands or feet, only talons.

As it walked further to the center of the great citadel it could see the corpse of a soldier leaning against one of the pillars next to a gigantic gate that led to a chapel. The creature walked over to the dead man and checked him out, his neck has been obviously broken and blood has been running out its torn throat.

The being glanced away from the body and spoke to seemingly empty hall, "Show yourself, Kain."

"Here, Raziel!" emerged a voice from the depths of the small chapel beyond the steel gate

The creature, Raziel, walked towards the portal and the nearer he got, the more reality started to shift around him. Once he reached the gateway he threw it open with a push of his claws and marched further to a sarcophagus, which was the center of the chapel.

He could see the one he searched for standing next to the tomb. It was a tall man with long white hair, who had the same kind of talons as Raziel. His skin was dark yellow-green and a red cape hung from his right shoulder. He wore black leather pants and his forearms were covered by brown leather guards.

Without even acknowledging Raziel's presence he started to talk, "Everything is decided here... You cannot comprehend the magnitude, the rapture and the tragedy, of this moment... And yet you must if Nosgoth is to be dragged from the wreckage of its damnation."

"I understand only this, Kain - that you and Moebius have impelled me to this moment, simply means that I can trust neither of you. I don't know who's pulling the strings but it no longer matters, because I'm cutting them. I set my own course from here." with that he turned around to leave

Kain watched him for a few moments and then replied, "If it were only that simple..."

Raziel stopped but didn't turn around, he responded frustrated, "Your fatalism is tiresome, Kain."

"...and profoundly ingrained, Raziel. You must understand that our presence here doesn't alter history. You and I meet here because we are compelled to – we have always met here.

History is irredeemable. Drop a stone into rushing river – the current simply courses around it and flows on as if the obstruction were never there. You and I are pebbles, Raziel, and have even less hope of disrupting the time-stream. The continuum of history is simply too strong, too resilient.

Except... then how do we explain William, here?" he gestured with a claw at a stained glass window depicting the battle of a young man with a vampire, both of them holding the same weapon.

Kain turned back towards the sarcophagus and continued talking, "The beloved boy-king turned tyrant."

He took the sword, the Soul Reaver, from the casket and turned to Raziel again while pointing the blade at him, "In my youth, I witnessed William's rise to power and his transformation into the 'Nemesis', who laid waste to Nosgoth."

"Keep your distance, Kain." said Raziel steely, his eyes not once leaving the Reaver in Kain's hand. The vampire didn't heed Raziel's words though and came nearer towards the wraith.

"Years later, I stumble upon a chance to journey back in history, unaware that the entire affair has been orchestrated by Moebius. In my wisdom, I seize this opportunity to murder the young king before he can ravage Nosgoth... ... and thereby provide the catalyst Moebius needs to ignite a genocidal war against our race."

Raziel grew more and more agitated the closer Kain came, "I warn you - no further!"

Kain continued, his voice growing more and more urgent, "This one reckless act unravels the skin of history. The Nemesis never becomes the Nemesis; William dies as martyred saint. I, the vampire assassin, become the author of my own species' destruction. And Moebius profits from it all. I destroyed one tyrant only to create one far worse."

Pointing back at the glass window that depicted the battle, Kain continued, "But how can it be so? How, if history is immutable?"

Kain advanced further towards Raziel and the nearer he got, the stronger the feeling of displacement that Raziel felt when he opened the gate became.

"The answer is here in this room, Raziel. Moebius propelled William and me together – but ensured first that we were both armed with the Soul Reaver. The Reaver is the key. Two incarnations of the blade meet in time and space... a paradox is created, a temporal distortion powerful enough to derail history."

Kain took a final step towards Raziel and the distortion around them reached its peak and out of its own will, Raziel's weapon, the wraith-blade manifested on his arm.

"Is this your sorcery?" asked Raziel in alarm

"Not mine, Raziel – yours. You have nothing to fear from me, Raziel. You hold all the cards." this said, Kain turned the blade and extended it towards Raziel, hilt first.

The wraith slowly took the sword and Kain let go of it walked a few steps back. As Raziel gripped the hilt, the displacement around them intensified.

Raziel now addressed Kain icily, the wraith-blade wrapping itself around its physical counterpart, "Then perhaps I should test your sincerity."

Quickly Raziel brought the tip of the blade up to Kain's throat. The vampire master stepped back and Raziel advanced with him, keeping the sword at his throat.

"If what you say is true, you should be terrified. I could kill you here and now."

Kain's voice when he responded was clearly apprehensive but also strangely resigned, "And so you do, Raziel."

The blade began to tremble slightly, as if it got its own will. Raziel was clearly confused by this, "What's happening?"

The trembling got stronger and Raziel had to struggle against the Reaver's pull.

"We are hurling toward our destinies, Raziel. What you feel is the pull of history rushing to meet us. This is where history and destiny collide."

Suddenly the Reaver lunged at Kain, who stumbled backwards against William's sarcophagus and fell on the ground. Raziel tried to fight the pull of the ancient blade, which became harder the more time passed.

Kain's speech continued with even more intensity, "If you really believe in free will, Raziel, now is the time to prove it. Kill me now and we both become pawns of history, dragged down the path of an artificial destiny. I was ordained to assume the role of Balance Guardian in Nosgoth, while you were destined to be its savior. But the map of my fate was redrawn by Moebius and so in turn was yours..."

Raziel struggle to stay in control grew even more, "This is madness!"

"Fight it, Raziel... This moment does not have to be an ending – it can become a prelude."

The pull of the Reaver got stronger and stronger and slowly Raziel started to loose his strength, "I can't..."

"You can, Raziel – look inside and see that it is so. You have the power to reshape our inevitable futures."

As if not bothered by the vampire's words anymore, Raziel raised the Soul Reaver and brought it down violently. Kain turned his head and tensed up for the impact; the sword came crashing down with a blinding flash of light and Raziel staggered backwards, finally free of the blade.

Slowly Kain opened his eyes and looked to the side; the Reaver was embedded in the now fractured tomb of William the Just and missed his head by mere inches. In the last moment before Raziel almost killed him, he must have diverted the sword's course and saved his life.

Slowly and a little unsteady Kain got back to his feet, his eyes never leaving the coffin, "...poor William."

All of a sudden, the room was plagued by an indescribable disturbance, their surroundings began to warp and blur and a colossal groaning filled the air as history was altered.

Raziel looked around in confusion, "What is this?"

"History abhors a paradox, Raziel. Even now, the time stream strains to divert itself, finding its old course blocked by your refusal to destroy me. The future is reshuffling itself to accommodate your monumental decision."

As Kain continued, the distortions started to subside, "This is where we restore ourselves, Raziel, and reclaim our intended destinies. It may yet be possible for me to assume my role as Balance Guardian and return the Pillars to their rightful owners..."

"...to the vampires." completed Raziel disdainfully, "And this is the destiny you urged me to discover? I don't know what game you and Moebius are playing, Kain – but I refuse to be your pawn. Unlike you, I still revere whatever shred of humanity I've managed to preserve. You will not use me as the instrument of your messianic delusions."

Raziel turned his back on Kain and strode out of the chapel.

"Very well, Raziel. I will not ask you to trust me – your truths are for yourself to discover."

The former vampire lieutenant paused briefly and replied without turning, "Humble words for one who presumes to teach me a lesson at every turn."

"Then continue your journey and learn your own lessons, Raziel. Remember – Moebius led you here but you walk away unfettered. A champion of free will and conqueror of false histories."

Raziel stalked away without even looking back and left Kain standing in the chapel, "There is much more for you to unearth, if you have the heart for the truth and the will to see it..."

_>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>> _

Ranma broke out of his stupor and noticed that some of the smaller fishes started to become too crispy and black for anyone's taste. Quickly he reached out to pull them away from the fire.

Of course he burned his hand, "Argh! Why do I always have to hurt myself after I get one of those damn visions?!"

_Some minutes later..._

Ranma was now eating his meal and contemplated what occurred in his vision, ((All that stuff was pretty confusing... ... but does it really mean that everything is predestined? No, that can't be... I refuse to believe that all my decisions were set in stone from my birth! But... what if it is? What if there truly was no free will? Jusenkyo, Nerima, the Neko-Ken... ... the Neko-Ken!

The man said that he saved me from the demons of the pit... but he comes from another dimension, which would mean he's an outside element, at least in this universe. Does that mean that he changed my fate? Should I have become a demonic host back then? Oh man... all that thinking about destiny makes my head hurt...))

/I can relate to that.../

((Huh?)) thought Ranma intelligently, "Who is there?"

/Ranma? You can hear me?/ asked the voice

"Who...? Kain?"

/Yes, it is me. The question is how we can talk to each other all of a sudden./

"Well, don't expect an answer from me. I have no clue how we can go this."

/Hmm... let me think for a moment... I feel something familiar./

"Take your time, it's not like I have anywhere to go for the time being."

After a few minutes of silence, Kain came finally up with something, /Of course... The Whisper./

"Errr... what are you talking about?"

/It's a dark gift all vampires possess, since they are created. It allows us to speak with each other over great distances without anyone listening in on us./

"Wait a minute. There is something wrong with your theory."

/And what should that be, Ranma?/

"Well... I'm no vampire so I can't have this dark... gift."

/In that point you are mistaken./

"What do you...? Hey, are you suggesting that I'm a vampire?"

/It's the only logical explanation. Why do you think that you heal so fast in the last time?/

"But... I can walk in the sun and I don't even have any urge to drink blood."

/That the sun isn't harming you can be easily explained, necromantic vampires evolve very fast. I discovered my invulnerably towards daylight only a few months after I was raised./

"What about the blood?"

/The only reason that comes to my mind is that you are not fully transformed. It would also explain why water isn't harming you yet./

"Wait... vampires are harmed by normal water?"

/Yes, though I am no longer affected by rain or snow. We will only have to worry about larger bodies of water, like the ocean, a lake or a river and even that won't destroy me, only weaken me considerably./

"So... I could still turn back from my cursed form to normal?"

/As long as you don't plan to take a bath to turn back, it will be okay. You have to live with the curse as long as it takes me to find a cure./

"You could find a cure?" asked Ranma hopefully

/Of course, I plan to get rid of it before we merge. I don't know how it would affect us, if not./ responded Kain, /On another note, you seem to take it pretty lightly that you turn gradually into a vampire./

"Well, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice and I wouldn't have to kill people to stay alive, would I?"

/Not really, you wouldn't have to drain humans completely of their blood to survive. You will just have to go on more hunts to satisfy your hunger./ answered Kain, ((That will change though, he has to learn how to kill humans when we return to Nosgoth.))

"... ...That doesn't sound too bad... ... even though I have to drink blood. Okay then. I think I'll go to sleep now, it was a long day and I have training to do tomorrow." replied Ranma and stood up

/Before I forget it, I want you to return to Nerima the next morning. We have to do some research in the local library./

"But my training..."

/You don't need any training. I doubt you will meet anyone, who is strong enough for you to need my weapons and armors. You are powerful enough as it is./

"What about Happosai? He beat me today."

/I don't believe that you will have to worry about the fool anymore./ replied Kain and Ranma could almost feel that the vampire was smirking

"Ooookay... I'm not even going to ask." said Ranma and walked to his tent, "What do you want to investigate anyway?"

/I want to know more about the vampires of this world. I think the library would be best place to start the search./

"How do you know that there are vampires on this planet?"

Kain thought back to what Happosai said but then made a story up for Ranma, /Well, you seem to know what a vampire is and from what I have seen there seems to be a lot of fictional work about them. It must have a source somewhere./

"Sounds reasonable enough. Okay, tomorrow morning we go back to the dojo so I can drop my stuff there, then we can go to the library."

Ranma entered the tent, undressed to his boxers and laid down on his sleeping bag. It was a pretty warm night, so he didn't need to cover himself.

"Good night, Kain."

/Sleep well./

_The next day..._

When Ranma returned to the dojo he was surprised when he found Kasumi clinging to him like an Amazon. He gave his mother a questioning look and she said,

"Kasumi accidentally heard Nabiki and me talking about you and your problem. We had to explain everything to her, since then she has been very worried."

Ranma looked down to the girl hugging him and patted her on the back, "Don't worry, I'm not going to die. I promise."

"Really? You really mean that?" asked the girl, looking up at him

"Of course, you can count on it."

The Tendo sister stopped hugging him and stepped back a little, with a smile on her face she said, "Thank you! I know you won't break your promise."

"Now son, why did you return so fast from your training trip? I thought you would at least be gone for a week." asked Nodoka

"I have to do something more important at the moment; if there's nothing else I'm going to dump my backpack into my room." replied Ranma and walked past the two women

"What do you have to do?" questioned his mother curiously

Ranma answered without stopping in his tracks, "Doing some research in the library, don't worry."

When he was gone Nodoka looked blankly at Kasumi, who had the same expression, "My son is going to the library to do research..."

"It must be really important... ..." responded the eldest Tendo daughter

After Ranma brought his pack into his room he quickly left the Tendo house again and made his way to the library. It was a pretty old building and two stories high; it was almost two times as large as the Tendo property.

He entered the library and was awed by all the books he saw, it was the first time in his life that he was in such a place.

"Wow... so many books... ..."

/Eh... pretty moderate. Let's go to the librarian now./

"Who?" asked Ranma puzzled

Kain sighed, if that was possible for a soul, /The... 'keeper' of this place. Maybe you should just talk to that woman sitting behind the counter to your right./

((I'll do that.)) replied Ranma in his thoughts and then walked to the black-haired female Kain pointed out.

"Err... Hello, miss?"

The woman looked up from the book she was reading and looked at Ranma, "Good morning, can I help you?"

"Well... I'm searching for the librarian, can you tell me where he is?" asked the Saotome heir genuinely

The vampire soul in Ranma suddenly had the urge to bash something to pieces, /Ranma... she is the librarian./

The woman giggled slightly and then answered friendly, "You found her already. So what can I do for you?"

Ranma blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, it's my first time in a library. I'm searching for books about vampires."

"Vampires? Do you have something more specific, like a certain author?"

"No, not really." responded the young man

"Oh well..." together with her swivel chair she rolled over to her computer and started typing, "Let's see."

Two or three minutes later she was finished with her search and printed something out. The woman rolled back to Ranma and gave him the paper.

"Here's a list of the books I could find, I hope it helps."

"Thank you. I'll go search for them now." replied Ranma with a smile

"No need to thank me, it is my job. Good luck with finding them!" said the female librarian and then continued reading her book

Ranma walked now further into the library and took a look at the list:

Carmilla the Vampire, by J. S. LeFanu

Chronicles of the Immortals vol. 1 – 5, by Wolfgang Hohlbein

Circus of the Damned, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice

Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice

The Laughing Corpse, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Lunatic Cafe, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice

((Uhmm... Do you want me to read all of them?)) asked Ranma a little horrified

Kain sighed, /Don't worry, I will read them. You just have to turn the pages./

After around half an hour Ranma found all of the listed books, he placed them on a table and sat down. He looked at the pile, took a book from the top, and mumbled, "Well... here goes..."

_Six hours later..._

Ranma couldn't believe how fast Kain was reading, there were only two books left now and one of them was already halfway finished.

/Are all these vampires homosexual?/ muttered Kain disbelievingly while reading the third Anne Rice novel

_Another hour later..._

Ranma brought all the books back to their shelves and left the library. He was on his way home and talked all the while mentally to Kain.

((So... were the books helpful?))

/Some were, others weren't but it seems that there are some reoccurring themes like a weakness to sunlight, holy objects, silver and garlic... not to forget fire./

((Is that good for us?))

/Yes, they have more weaknesses than we do, which is a huge advantage for us./

((Hmm... do you expect to get into fights against them?))

/It's very probable that we have to battle them, since we have to search the Reaver and seeing as I was flung through space and time, it could very well be that it landed in the past. In that case we have to find someone who is old enough to remember such a weapon./

((The Reaver could also be in the future then, what are you going to do if that's the case?))

/Still remember the mirror that sent you through time?/

((The Nanban Mirror...? But Nabiki stepped on it.))

/I clearly remember that Cologne picked up all the pieces and she was very careful not to miss one. She must know a way to repair it./

((And you think that she is just going to give it to me?))

/Of course not, most probably we have to steal it... or take it by force. I prefer the last one, that Amazon witch needs to be taken down a few notches./

Ranma sweatdropped, ((I should have known that you would say this. What do you plan to do next?))

/Get rid of your curse./

((Really?! Do you already have any ideas?))

/The easiest solution would be to travel to Jusenkyo,.../

Ranma interrupted him, ((But all the pools were flooded.))

Kain completely ignored Ranma and continued talking, /...dig a hole and drown a boy in it to create a new cursed spring./

((You're not serious, are you?))

/I said it would be the easiest way, not one you would like./

((Think of something else.))

/I knew you would say that./

Later in the Tendo Dojo...

"So you say that Ranma returned this morning right after we went to school?" asked Nabiki her older sister and Nodoka

Kasumi nodded, "That's how it was."

"And he said he was going to the library?" continued Nabiki in bewildered

Ranma's mother replied this time, "Exactly."

"Yeah right, I bet he's together with one of his bimbos!" butted Akane in

At that moment the front door opened and Ranma stepped in, he walked to the living room where all the females were together, "Ahh... nice to be home, I already missed the sounds of jealousy."

All of them caught the sarcastic tone in his voice, almost all of them that is, "I am not jealous of you, you idiot!"

"How fortunate for me, if you were jealous that would mean you cared about me. I wouldn't know if I could survive that."

"Very funny..." responded Akane dryly and stomped out of the room to brood over what Ranma said

"Heh... I knew that would get her to go away." stated Ranma with a smirk

"That was mean, Ranma." said Kasumi with a slight frown

"You shouldn't threat Akane like that." added his mother

"I liked it!" said a smiling Nabiki

"Now we four can talk without being disturbed." after saying this he noticed something, "Where are the panda and Mr. Tendo?"

"They were so happy that Happosai didn't come home yet, so they went to a bar to celebrate." explained Nodoka while shaking her head at the antics of her husband

((And I thought it would only bring advantages to annihilate the pervert... now these two idiots will be happy. Can't let that happen.)) thought Kain

Ranma didn't know why, but he felt a shiver going down his spine, "Good, now let's sit down."

"So... what do you want to talk about, Ranma?" asked Nabiki after she sat down on the couch between Nodoka and her sister

"Well, during my training session yesterday Happosai attacked me. He knocked me out with around ten of his bombs and some time later I woke up and he wasn't there anymore..."

"Err... and that's why you returned back home? Revenge on Happosai?" questioned the middle Tendo sister with a raised eyebrow

"No, that's not the reason why I'm here. Now where was I... oh, yes! I woke up and discovered that I could finally talk to the other soul inside of me."

It was kind of funny how the eyes of the three women widened simultaneously, "Really?!"

Ranma winced slightly when the triple shout reached his ears, "Yes, really."

"What have you talked about?" inquired Nabiki

"What is he like?" asked Kasumi

"Did you figure out how to solve your problem?" questioned Nodoka

"Hey, hey, hey... not everyone at once." requested Ranma defensively, "Okay, we talked about how to get rid of my curse."

"Okay..." replied Nabiki thinking about his answer

"Next, he seems to be pretty arrogant, intelligent, cold-hearted and honorable."

"... ... that sounds... nice..." murmured Kasumi

"And last but not least, there is only one solution to all of this, mom – Kain and I have to merge, otherwise we are both going to die in a few months."

"Kain?" asked the eldest Tendo sister

"The guy inside of me." replied Ranma

"Oh, okay."

"So that's how it is!!" screamed someone suddenly

Ranma looked towards the source of the voice and saw Akane standing at the door of living room, "What are you talking about?"

"I always knew that there is something wrong with you and now I know it!"

"I don't really like to repeat myself but... What the hell are you talking about?"

"I always knew you were gay!!"

/"What?!?"/ was shouted by four people and one vampire soul at the same time

"And all of you knew it too! Even you, aunty Nodoka!"

"How did you get the idea that I am gay?!" questioned Ranma incredulously

/I would like to know that too!/ said Kain even though no one else except his host heard him

"You pervert were talking about 'merging' with some guy named Kain, you were raving about how honorable and intelligent he is and you even said that you would die, if you couldn't be with him!!"

All of the people present stared at Akane for a few moments in absolute silence and then,

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

/What a fool... and I thought Raziel was thick-headed at times./

"What?! Why are you all laughing at me?!"

"Akane, this was one of the best conclusions you've ever come to." said Ranma with a grin

"Ha! So you really are gay!" replied Akane victoriously

The cursed boy shook his head, "No, I meant your conclusion that we are all laughing at you. It's pure genius if you consider who said it."

Akane's body shook with rage and with a mighty cry of "Ranma no Baka!!" she malleted him on the head. When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked that the boy was still standing there with the mallet on his head; the problem was that it didn't faze him at all and he was standing there still grinning.

"Hmph." Akane quickly walked out of the room, dragging her mallet behind her on the ground, she seemed to be completely insulted.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Nodoka

"Not really, mom, but it was the fastest way to get her of my case." responded Ranma nonchalantly, "Maybe she won't try it again after she saw that it didn't work."

"But there is also the possibility that she's just getting a bigger mallet." stated Nabiki

The cursed boy sweatdropped at this, "Errr... well, that's true."

"What are you going to do if that happens?" asked the middle Tendo daughter

Ranma smiled sweetly, "Easy, I'll show her this!"

With a quick act of concentration a red-black ball of energy showed up above the palm of his right hand, slowly it took another form and after he gripped the handle of weapon it solidified. Now he a held wicked looking spiked mace in his hand that looked like it could tear through steel without much trouble.

"I bet that will scare her enough not to try anything." then the weapon disappeared again

"Where did you get that thing from?" questioned Nabiki with wide eyes

"It belonged to Kain." replied Nodoka's son, "It seems like I can use all of his old weapons."

Kasumi took this moment to stand up, "I'm going to make us all some tea, we need to refresh a bit."

"That would be nice, Kasumi." said Ranma

"Yeah, I think we're going to need it." continued Nabiki

Nodoka stood up as well, "I will help you, Kasumi-chan."

"Thank you, aunty Nodoka!"

Both of them left the room and went to the kitchen, leaving Nabiki and Ranma sitting in the living room.

Nabiki took this chance to ask something, "What are you going to do now? It seems that you have come to terms with the merge."

"I need to get rid of the curse before I can merge with Kain. He said that it could cause complications if it remained."

The girl raised an eyebrow at this, "But you already tried that for over two years, how do you expect to do it in a few months?"

"Well... the easiest way would be..."

"Yeah, yeah... dig a hole by Jusenkyo, fill it with water and drown a boy in it. I already came up with this a long time ago but I doubt you would do something like this."

Ranma stared at Nabiki in disbelief, ((I don't believe it, she had exactly the same idea you had.))

/She always reminded me of myself when I was younger and still human./

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" asked Nabiki, her cheeks reddening slightly due to Ranma's gaze

"Uhmm... sorry, it's just that Kain said the same thing you did."

The girl raised an eyebrow at this, "Really?"

Ranma nodded and continued, "Yes, and you were both right in the aspect that I won't do something like that."

"Then what are you planning to do? Everything else you tried failed miserably."

"That's the problem; it seems that some higher force wants me to keep this damned curse."

/I might have an idea that could work./ said Kain

"What kind of idea?" asked Ranma and then told Nabiki, "Don't worry, I'm talking to Kain. He said he had an idea."

/We would have to merge immediately, when it's accomplished though. And we will need something for it to work too./

"And what would we need?" asked Ranma curiously

/A corpse./

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End file.
